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Our reference: FOI 24/25-0013 
GPO Box 700 
Canberra   ACT   2601 
1800 800 110 
12 August 2024 
 
ndis.gov.au 
 
 
Brooke Bickley 
 
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
Dear Brooke Bickley 
 
Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision 
 
Thank you for your correspondence of 3 July 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 documents: 
  “I am requesting Research Documents the Technical Advisory Branch have with the 
following topics: 
 
- GPS Tracking 
- Locating OT assessment resources for TAB/AAT cases 
- Government PBS Safety net considerations 
- Group based pain management programs 
- Neurofeeedback therapy 
- Air conditioning 
- Air conditioning maintenance costs 
- Power subsidy schemes 
- Electroconvulsive therapy 
- Therapy and sensory items (weighted/autism focused) 
- Partners in recovery program 
- Self reported functional capacity, perceived disability, and actual functional 
performance 
- Recreational supports: barriers to participation (people with a disability vs people 
without a disability) 
- SDA Vacancies search 
- Matrix of entities responsible for authorisation of RRP 
- Treatments to remedy Depression and chronic anxiety 
- Evidence based treatments for chronic anxiety 
- Determining personal care hours for a range of tasks 
- Alternative funding options for medications not PBS approved 
- Computer based interactive cognitive training 
- Cost of meal preparation and delivery 
- Adaptive behaviour assessment system 
- Therapy best practice 
- Dialectical behaviour therapy 
- Exposure therapy for PTSD 
 
1 
- Ratios of direct support 
- Restrictive practice - NDIS State based information 
- Common home automations 
- Long covid 
- Gym membership in Australia 
- Take away / Eating out habits of Australians 
- Efficacy of equine therapy 
- Sensory based therapy 
- Pet ownership and mental health 
- Home modifications and behaviours of concern 
- Summary of evidence quality of 6 cooking skil s related articles 
- Mainstream and community transport options 
- Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation on functional outcomes for people with 
psychosocial conditions 
- Psychometric scoring properties and criteria for ABAS 3rd edition 
- Evaluation of CANS, ABAS-3, LSP-16 outcome measures 
- Air conditioning and thermoregulation 
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis - chronic fatigue syndrome 
- Administering medication in Australia” 
 
Extension of time 
On 1 August 2024, you agreed to a 14-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI 
Act, making 19 August 2024 the new date to provide you with a decision on access. 
 
Search efforts 
Searches for documents were conducted by the Technical Advisory Branch (TAB) and 37 
documents responsive to your application were located. Two documents were also located on 
the NDIA  FOI  disclosure log  as being previously released;  these documents are being 
provided as part of an administrative release. 
 
I note there are discrepancies in the names of some of them documents requested compared 
to the documents provided. TAB have confirmed that the documents provided are consistent 
with your request and I have included both names of the documents, one in brackets, in the 
schedule of documents at Attachment A. 
 
I also note that TAB have confirmed some of the documents requested are part of a single 
document, namely, ‘Air conditioning’, ‘Air conditioning maintenance costs’, ‘Matrix of entities 
responsible for authorisation of RRP’ and ‘Psychometric scoring properties and criteria for 
ABAS 3rd edition’. Details of which documents they relate to have been provided in the 
schedule of documents at Attachment A. 
 
Decision on access to documents 
I have decided to grant full access to 3 documents. 
I have decided to grant partial access to all 34 documents. 
 
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 3-5 and 7-37 contain material that is irrelevant to your 
request. The irrelevant material relates to names and/or contact details of NDIA staff which 
you have agreed to out of scope from your request, and names and emails of organisations 
in document 23 ‘Ratios of Supports’. This means that although I have decided to provide full 
access to the information requested, the removal of the irrelevant information makes the 
documents a partial release. 
 
2 
link to page 3
Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material 
removed.1 
 
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 
 
Patrick 
Senior Freedom of Information Officer 
Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI 
General Counsel Division 
 
1 Section 22 of the FOI Act. 
3 
Attachment A  
Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-0013 
 
Document 
Page 
Description 
Access Decision 
Comments 
number 
number 
1 
1-13 
GPS Enabled Tracking Devices (GPS Tracking) 
FULL ACCESS 
 
 
2 
14-16 
Footnotes used in the Source Document: INTERFACE 
FULL ACCESS 
 
MED LEGAL - ADL Report  (Locating OT assessment 
 
resources for TAB/AAT cases) 
 
3 
17-22 
PBS Safety Net (Government PBS Safety net 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
considerations) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
4 
23-35 
Group based pain management programs 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
5 
36-40 
Neurofeedback therapy 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
 
 
Air conditioning 
 
Not a separate document, 
please refer to document 36 
provided 
 
 
Air conditioning maintenance costs 
 
Not a separate document, 
please refer to document 36 
provided 
6 
41-63 
Power subsidy schemes 
FULL ACCESS 
 
 
7 
64-73 
Electroconvulsive therapy 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
8 
74-88 
Sensory products/ weighted items for participants with 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
Autism (Therapy and sensory items (weighted/autism 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
focused)) 
9 
89-92 
Partners in recovery program 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
4 
Document 
Page 
Description 
Access Decision 
Comments 
number 
number 
10 
93-103  Impact of funding on self-reported functional capacity and 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
perceived difficulty Vs actual functional performance (Self 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
reported functional capacity, perceived disability, and 
actual functional performance) 
11 
104-124  Recreational supports: barriers to participation (people 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
with a disability vs people without a disability) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
12 
125-128  SDA Vacancies search 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
 
 
Matrix of entities responsible for authorisation of RRP 
 
Not a separate document, 
please refer to document 24 
provided 
13 
129-134  Depression – Evidence based treatments (Treatments to 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
remedy Depression and chronic anxiety) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
14 
135-140  Evidence based treatments for chronic anxiety 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
15 
141-147  Determining personal care hours for a range of tasks 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
16 
148-152  Alternative funding sources for Rituximab (Alternative 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
funding options for medications not PBS approved) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
17 
153-165  Computer based interactive cognitive training for acquired 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
brain injury (Computer based interactive cognitive training) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
18 
166-173  Cost of meal preparation and delivery 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
19 
174-178  Adaptive behaviour assessment system 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
20 
179-201  Therapy best practice 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
21 
202-212  Dialectical behaviour therapy 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
22 
213-219  Exposure therapy for PTSD 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
5 
Document 
Page 
Description 
Access Decision 
Comments 
number 
number 
23 
220-240  Ratios of direct support 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
24 
241-277  Guide to Restrictive Practice Processes by state and 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
territory (Restrictive practice - NDIS State based 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
information) 
25 
278-289  Home automation as an everyday living cost (Common 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
home automations) 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
 
 
Long Covid-19 
 
Previously released under FOI, 
 
provided as an administrative 
release 
26 
290-293  Gym membership in Australia 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
27 
294-298  Take away / Eating out habits of Australians 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
28 
299-307  Efficacy of equine therapy 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
29 
308-321  Sensory based therapy 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
30 
322-331  Pet ownership and mental health 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
31 
332-344  Home modifications and behaviours of concern 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
32 
345-349  Summary of evidence quality of 6 cooking skil s related 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
articles 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
33 
350-369  Mainstream and community transport options 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
34 
370-378  Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation on functional 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
outcomes for people with psychosocial conditions 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
6 
Document 
Page 
Description 
Access Decision 
Comments 
number 
number 
 
 
Psychometric scoring properties and criteria for ABAS 3rd 
 
Not a separate document, 
edition 
please refer to document 35 
provided 
35 
379-390  Evaluation of CANS, ABAS-3, LSP-16 outcome measures 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
36 
391-416  Air conditioning and thermoregulation 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
 
 
Myalgic encephalomyelitis - chronic fatigue syndrome 
 
Previously released under FOI, 
provided as an administrative 
release 
37 
417-425  Administering medication in Australia 
PARTIAL ACCESS  Irrelevant material removed 
 
under section 22 of the FOI Act 
7 

 
Attachment B 
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. 
 
8