Our reference: FOI 23/24-1400
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
30 July 2024
ndis.gov.au
Gabriel O
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Gabriel O
Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 28 June 2024, in which you requested access to
documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my decision on your application.
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the fol owing 12 documents:
Autistic burnout
Management of auditory differences in people with autism
ABA for adults with autism Autism
Spectrum Disorder – stocktake
Therapy and Sensory items (Weighted/autism focused)
CBT for children with ASD
EMDR for ASD and OCD
Later life diagnoses of ASD and developmental delay
ASD diagnoses
Sensory based therapy
Assistance animal therapy and assistance animals
Association between Ehlers-Danlos and ASD
Search efforts
Searches for documents were conducted by the NDIA’s Technical Advisory Branch (TAB) and
11 documents responsive to your application were located.
Decision on access to documents
I have decided to grant access in part to all 11 documents and refuse access to 1 document
on the basis that that the document is non-existent or unlocatable under section 24A of the
FOI Act.
Please see my detailed statement of reasons at
Attachment A.
I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted
I have identified that Documents 1-11 contain material that is irrelevant to your request. The
irrelevant material relates to names NDIA staff which is information you have agreed to out
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link to page 2
of scope from your request. This means that although I have decided to provide full access
to the information contained within the documents, the removal of the irrelevant information
under section 22 of the FOI Act means the documents are a partial release.
I have considered whether it is possible to delete the irrelevant material from the documents
and have concluded that it is reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared
an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material removed.
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Release of documents
The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at
Attachment A,
are attached.
Rights of review
Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at
Attachment B.
Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me
by email
at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Jennifer(JFD472)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI
General Counsel Division
1 Section 22 of the FOI Act.
2
Attachment A
Statement of Reasons
FOI23/24-1400
_________________________________________________________________________
I have refused
access to one of the documents you have requested on the basis that the
document is unlocatable or does not exist under section 24A of the FOI Act.
Relevant law
Under the FOI Act, a person has a right to be given access to documents of an agency.
However, the right of access is subject to limitations, including grounds for refusal of access.
Section 24A of the FOI Act states that an agency may refuse a request for access to a
document if all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document and the agency is
satisfied that the document cannot be found or does not exist.
Searches for documents
On 24 July 2024, I was advised by our Technical Advisory Branch (TAB) that the NDIA does
not hold a research paper named
Association between Ehlers-Danlos and ASD, despite it
appearing on the list of research documents recently released. TAB advised that this was an
administrative error, and I note this wil be amended in due course.
Based on the information I have received from TAB, I am satisfied that the research paper in
question was identified in error and does not exist.
Conclusion
Therefore, I refuse access to the information under section a 24A of the FOI Act.
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Attachment B
Schedule of Documents for FOI 23/24-1400
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
Comments
number
number
1
1-11
Autistic Burnout
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
under section 22 of the FOI
12 March 2024
Act
2
12-25
Effective management of auditory differences in people with
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
autism
(Management of auditory differences in people with
under section 22 of the FOI
autism)
Act
16 February 2023
3
26-31
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
Applied Behaviour Analysis for adults with ASD
(ABA for adults
under section 22 of the FOI
with Autism)
Act
14 February 2022
4
32-42
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
ASD Stocktake of Resources
(Spectrum Disorder – stocktake)
under section 22 of the FOI
Act
19 July 2019
5
43-57
Updated Literature Review: Sensory products/weighted items
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
for participants with Autism
(Therapy and Sensory items -
under section 22 of the FOI
Weighted/autism focused).
Act
14 May 2020
6
58-61
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Emotional Regulation in
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
Children with Autism
(CBT for children with ASD)
under section 22 of the FOI
Act
4
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
Comments
number
number
7
62-67
Eye movement desensitisation and response therapy for people
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive
under section 22 of the FOI
Disorder
(EMDR for ASD and OCD)
Act
1 November 2022
8
68-82
ASD and DLD diagnoses after 6 years old
(Later life diagnoses
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
of ASD and developmental delay)
under section 22 of the FOI
Act
15 February 2022
9
83-102 Diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder using the DSM-5
(ASD
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
Diagnoses)
under section 22 of the FOI
Act
10 December 2021
10
103-116 Sensory-based therapy
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
under section 22 of the FOI
29 September 2022
Act
11
117-125 Animal Assistance Therapy and Assistance Animals
PART ACCESS
Irrelevant material removed
under section 22 of the FOI
14 April 2022
Act
.
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Attachment C
Your review rights
Internal Review
The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision.
If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for the review, in
writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.
No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review
process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you
disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email to
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or sent by post to:
Freedom of Information Section
Complaints Management and FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
GPO Box 700
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
The FOI Act also gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.
If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for the review, in
writing, or by using the online merits review form available on the OAIC’s website at
www.oaic.gov.au, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.
Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:
Online:
www.oaic.gov.au
Post:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Phone:
1300 363 992 (local cal charge)
Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the
Commonwealth Ombudsman
You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions
taken by the NDIA in relation to your request. The Ombudsman wil consult with the OAIC
before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.
Your complaint to the OAIC can be directed to the contact details identified above. Your
complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:
Phone: 1300 362 072 (local cal charge)
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Your complaint should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered
that the actions taken in relation to the request should be investigated.
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