Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,

I am writing to make a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) for access to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) concerning the Technical Advisory Team (TAT).
Specifically, I seek access to the following documents:

Policies, procedures, guidelines, or manuals used by the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) in its decision-making processes regarding participant plans, supports, or funding determinations;

Internal decision-making frameworks, charters, terms of reference or process maps that describe the role, authority, and operational processes of the TAT;

Records of standard operating procedures or workflow documents that outline how matters are referred to, considered by, and decided by the TAT;

Any document that sets out criteria, principles, or factors considered by the TAT in providing advice or recommendations to NDIA decision-makers;

If available, any training materials provided to NDIA staff that explain how the TAT process interacts with participant planning and decision-making.

For the avoidance of doubt, I seek documents that were current as at the date of this request as well as those that were in effect in the previous 24 months.

Format:
I request that any documents identified in response to this request be provided in electronic format (PDF preferred).

Scope limitations:
I am not seeking personal information about any individuals, such as names of NDIA employees below SES level or names and details of NDIS participants. Please redact such material if it appears in the documents.

Contact:
Should you require clarification regarding this request or if any part of this request needs to be refined to assist with processing, please contact me at [insert email address or preferred contact details].

I would appreciate an acknowledgment of receipt of this request and confirmation of the statutory timeframe for processing.
Yours sincerely,

Justin Elks

Dear NDIA Freedom of Information Team,

I am writing to follow up on my FOI request titled “Technical Advisory Team – Decision-Making Process”.

The statutory decision period has now expired. Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), an agency must acknowledge a valid FOI request within 14 days and notify the applicant of a decision within 30 calendar days of receipt, unless a valid extension applies.

If an extension applies, it must be (a) an applicant-agreed extension of up to 30 days under s 15AA (in writing and notified to the OAIC); (b) an automatic 30-day extension due to third-party consultation under s 15(6) (ss 26A/27/27A); or (c) an extension granted by the OAIC under s 15AB. Absent a valid extension, a deemed refusal now exists under s 15AC. Please treat this as notice that, by law, the authority should have responded by now.

Please, within 5 business days:

1. confirm the date you recorded my request as received and the original statutory due date;

2. state whether any extensions were sought and granted (identify the provision—s 15AA, s 15(6), or s 15AB—and provide the revised due date and evidence, e.g., applicant agreement or OAIC instrument); and

3. if no valid extension applies, issue your decision and release any documents without further delay.

For completeness, I note that even where time has expired and the matter is deemed refused, the agency remains obliged to continue processing the request and may seek limited further time from the OAIC; however, the deemed status still arises once the original period expires.

Kind regards,

Yours faithfully,

Justin Elks