30 September 2024
Ref: LEX 3564
Mr Bob Buckley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Buckley,
Freedom of Information Request No. (33) 24/25-1
Notice of Decision on Access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
I refer to your request dated 31 August 2024 which sought access to documents held by the NDIS
Quality and Safeguard Commission (the NDIS Commission), under the
Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).
Specifically, your request sought access to:
“Documents in relation to information on NDIS Commission website
(https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/portal/apply-registration): "All ‘provisionally’ suitable NDIS
behaviour support practitioners are required to complete an assessment against the Positive
Behaviour Support Capability Framework.
1. how and why these assessment only addresses Positive Behaviour Support and why other aspects
of clinical practice in behaviour science are not addressed;
2. the development of the assessment process referred to above including (but not limited to)
disability sector engagement, consultation, and co-design;
3. outcomes from this assessment process including (but not limited to) the numbers (by year or
quarter) of applications, successful and unsuccessful (separately) assessments, and reasons for
unsuccessful applications; and
4. processes for ensuring standards and quality of behaviour support services are maintained
including (but not limited to) the number (by year or quarter) of and reasons for deregistration of
behaviour support providers.”
Administration of your FOI request
On 2 September 2024, the NDIS Commission acknowledged your request by email.
On 3 September 2024, you consented to be identified as the FOI applicant for the purposes of any
third-party consultation that may be required and confirm that you do not seek the personal
information of staff below SES level and consent to the removal of duplicate documents and the
provision of the final email in any email chains.
I am an authorised decision maker for the purposes of section 23 of the FOI Act and this letter gives
notice of my decision.
Decision
The NDIS Commission has located
thirty-eight documents, comprising of 703 pages, that fall within
the scope of your freedom of information (FOI) request. The documents were identified by searches
undertaken in NDIS Commission systems. These documents are set out in the schedule attached to
this notice, including document access via the provided hyperlinks.
I have decided to grant access in full to
thirty-eight documents. I have also decided to grant access in
full to
one document prepared by the NDIS Commission's Data and Insights team in accordance with
section 17 of the FOI Act and in response to point 4 of your FOI request.
For documents 1 to 37, a copy of these documents are not attached for release as they are publicly
available on the NDIS Commission website. The hyperlink of each document can be found within the
Schedule of Documents.
The documents that I have chosen to grant access in ful are set out in
Schedule of Documents.
In reaching my decision, I have taken into consideration:
• the terms of your request on 31 August 2024;
• the FOI Act (in particular s17);
• the types of information and documents that are in the NDIS Commission’s possession;
• the correspondence between you and the Commission on 3 September 2024:
• the content of the document that fal within the scope of you request;
• the results of searches undertaken by relevant NDIS Commission staff; and
• Guidelines issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under s93A
of the FOI Act (
FOI Guidelines).
Reasons for decision
Section 17 - Requests involving use of computers etc.
Section 17 of the FOI Act relevantly provides the following:
(1) Where:
(a) a request (including a request in relation to which a practical refusal reason exists)
is made in accordance with the requirements of
subsection 15(2) to an agency;
(b) it appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for information that
is not available in discrete form in written documents of the agency; and
(ba) it does not appear from the request that the applicant wishes to be provided with
a computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and
(c) the agency could produce a written document containing the information in
discrete form by:
(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to
the agency for retrieving or collating stored information; or
(ii) the making of a transcript from a sound recording held in the agency;
the agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written
document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this
Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its possession.
(2) An agency is not required to comply with
subsection (1) if compliance would
substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.
The right of access under the FOI Act is to existing documents, rather than to information. The FOI Act
does not require the NDIS Commission to create a new document in response to a request for access,
except in limited circumstances where the applicant seeks access in a different format or where the
information is stored in an agency computer system rather than in discrete form.
Section 17 of the FOI Act obliges the NDIS Commission to produce a written document of information
that is stored electronically and not in a discrete written form, if:
• The NDIS Commission can produce a written document containing the requested
information by using a 'computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available' to the NDIS
Commission for retrieving or collating stored information: s17(1)(c)(i); and
• Producing the written document would not substantial y and unreasonably divert the
resources of the agency from its other operations: s17(2) (see paragraph 3.212 of the FOI
Guidelines).
Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
After consultation with the relevant NDIS Commission teams, it was determined that information in
response to point 4 of your FOI request -
‘… the number (by year or quarter) of and reasons for
deregistration of behaviour support providers…’ was not held by the NDIS Commission in the discrete
document form.
In order to provide you access to the specified information regarding point 4 of the FOI scope, it was
requested that an extract of data listed in the NDIS Commission’s wider database be used to create a
document.
Document 38 is comprised of the fol owing data information, for the last two calendar years:
• The types of enforcement action including banning orders, or registration related sanctions
applied to the providers which are registered for Behaviour Support providers across each
quarter of the years 2023 to 2024.
Document 38 listed in
Schedule of Documents was created in accordance with section 17 of the FOI
Act.
Further information in response to your FOI request
The Practice Quality Division have provided additional information in response to the entire scope of
your FOI request. This information is set out below under the respective sections of your FOI request.
1.Introduction part of your scope:
Documents in relation to information on NDIS Commission website
(https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/portal/apply-registration): "All ‘provisionally’ suitable NDIS
behaviour support practitioners are required to complete an assessment against the Positive
Behaviour Support Capability Framework.
This section of the NDIS Commission website is no longer valid. The Communications team have
updated the website on 10/09/24 to remove this wording. In 2023, the NDIS Commission website
contained the fol owing document ‘
FAQ – Revoking Provisional Suitability – July 2023’. However, this
FAQ information has been deleted recently as it is over 12 months old.
2. Documents relating to scope point 1:
The PBS Capability Framework guides the NDIS Commission’s work on behaviour support capability
and is used to consider the suitability of behaviour support practitioners to deliver specialist behaviour
support services. This is consistent with Part 2 section 5 of t
he Federal Register of Legislation - National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS Behaviour Support Practitioner Application) Guidelines 2020. The
PBS Capability Framework has been produced by the NDIS Commission using best practice positive
behaviour support as its guidance.
3.
Documents relating to scope point 2:
The development of the assessment process referred to above including (but not limited to) disability
sector engagement, consultation, and co-design can be found on page 2 and 3 of document 1. The
NDIS Commission engaged and consulted with four registered NDIS providers to determine the tools
and processes that need to be developed in preparation for ful -scale implementation of the PBS
Capability Framework across jurisdictions.
4.
Documents relating to scope point 3:
The activity reports published on the NDIS Commission website include information on the number of
Suitable NDIS Behaviour Support Practitioners, the report scan be found on documents 3 to 19. We
are currently not reporting on the number of ‘suitability applications’ submitted, as a single individual
may submit multiple applications, interfering with the data.
Fol owing consideration of an application, under the Guidelines, the NDIS Commission can provide
one of three suitability outcomes -
suitable,
not suitable, or
unable to make a decision. the NDIS
Commission is considering including
not suitable and
unable to make a decision data in future activity
reports to be published on the NDIS Commission website.
5.
Documents relating to scope point 4:
The following NDIS Commission webpage contains processes for ensuring standards and quality of
behaviour support services are maintained:
-
Understanding what is involved in an audit | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
(ndiscommission.gov.au)
- Working with universities and funding a number of grants to develop tools and resources on
supported decision making, col aboration,
positive behaviour support, quality markers of
behaviour support plans an
d Tele-PBS.
- Extending on the available
Practice Guides and
Evidence Summaries.
FOI Disclosure Log
In accordance with the requirements of section 11C of the FOI Act, the Commission is required to
publish details of information released under the FOI Act, subject to certain exemptions.
I am satisfied that none of the exceptions at section 11C apply and that details of the document
disclosed to you as part of your FOI request will be published on the Commission's FOI disclosure log.
For further information about the Commission’s FOI disclosure log please refer to our
website.
Your review rights
If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you may apply for internal review or Information
Commissioner review of the decision. We encourage you to seek internal review as a first step as it
may provide a more rapid resolution of your concerns.
Internal review
Under section 54 of the FOI Act, you may apply in writing to NDIS Commission for an internal review
of my decision by another NDIS Commission officer. The internal review application must be made
within 30 days of the date of this letter. The request should be addressed to
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. Where possible please attach reasons why you believe review of the
decision is necessary.
Information Commissioner review
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, you may apply to the Australian Information Commissioner to review
my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must be made in writing
within 60 days of the date of this letter, and be lodged in one of the following ways:
• online via the
OAIC review smartform
• by email to
: xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by post to: GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
More information about
Information Commissioner review is available on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner website.
FOI Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your FOI request, please let us know what we could
have done better. We may be able to rectify the problem. If you are not satisfied with our response,
you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner. A complaint to the
Information Commissioner must be made in writing. Complaints can be lodged in one of the fol owing
ways:
• online via the
OAIC Complaint smartform
• by email to:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
• by post to: GPO Box 5288 Sydney 2001
More information about
FOI complaints is available on the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner.
If you are not sure whether to lodge an Information Commissioner review or an Information
Commissioner complaint, the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has
more information.
Contact
If you wish to discuss this decision, please contact xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Deepika Thimapuram
Assistant Director – Freedom of Information
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
SCHEDULE OF DOCUMENTS
Document
Date
Description of
Number Decision on
Applicable
reference
document
of
access
exemptions
pages
Documents relating to point 1 and 2 of FOI request:
1
July 2019
Positive Behaviour
42
Full access
N/A
Support Capability
Framework
2
May 2021
Self-assessment
69
Full access
N/A
resource guide
Documents relating to point 3 of FOI request:
3
undated
Activity report: 1
13
Full access
N/A
April to 30 June
2022 (three month)
4
undated
Activity report: 1
26
Full access
N/A
January to 31 March
2022 (three month)
5
undated
Activity report: 1
13
Full access
N/A
January to 31 March
2023 (three month)
6
undated
Activity report: 1
13
Full access
N/A
October to 31
December 2022
(three month)
7
undated
Activity report: 1
13
Full access
N/A
July to 30
September 2022
(three month)
8
undated
Quarterly
46
Full access
N/A
performance report:
Q3 2023-2024
9
undated
Quarterly
42
Full access
N/A
performance report:
Q4 2022-2023
10
undated
Quarterly
46
Full access
N/A
performance report:
Q2 2023-2024
11
undated
Quarterly
46
Full access
N/A
performance report:
Q4 2023-2024
12
undated
Quarterly
46
Full access
N/A
performance report:
Q1 2023-2024
13
undated
6 monthly report:
1
Full access
N/A
July to December
2018
14
undated
6 monthly report:
5
Full access
N/A
July to December
2019
15
undated
6 monthly report:
26
Full access
N/A
July to December
2021
16
undated
6 monthly report:
11
Full access
N/A
July to December
2020
17
undated
12 months activity
2
Full access
N/A
report 2018-2019
18
undated
12 months activity
11
Full access
N/A
report 2020-2021
19
undated
12 months activity
11
Full access
N/A
report 2019-2020
Documents relating to point 4 of FOI request:
20
undated
Implementing
3
Full access
N/A
providers:
Facilitating the
development of
behaviour support
plans that include
regulated restricted
practices
21
undated
Policy Guidance:
3
Full access
N/A
working within your
knowledge skil s and
experience
22
undated
Policy Guidance: The 2
Full access
N/A
safe reduction and
elimination of
regulated restrictive
practices
23
undated
Comprehensive
7
Full access
N/A
Behaviour Support
Plan Checklist:
requirements for
Specialist Behaviour
Support Providers
24
December
Comprehensive
12
Full access
N/A
2023
Behaviour Support
Plan template
version 3
25
undated
Interim Behaviour
6
Full access
N/A
Support Plan
Checklist:
requirements for
Specialist Behaviour
Support Providers
26
December
Interim Behaviour
13
Full access
N/A
2023
Support Plan version
3
27
September
Compliance and
13
Full access
N/A
2024
Enforcement Policy
28
July 2023
Position statement: 11
Full access
N/A
policies that present
high risk of harm to
NDIS participants
29
undated
Participant fact
3
Full access
N/A
sheet 1: What is
positive behaviour
support
30
undated
Participant fact
3
Full access
N/A
sheet 2:
Understanding your
rights
31
undated
Participant fact
3
Full access
N/A
sheet 3: Choosing a
specialist behaviour
support provider
32
undated
Participant fact
4
Full access
N/A
sheet 4: What to
expect from your
specialist behaviour
support provider
33
undated
Participant fact
2
Full access
N/A
sheet 5: What to do
if you are not happy
with your specialist
behaviour support
provider
34
November
New NDIS Practice
6
Full access
N/A
2021
Standards and
Quality Indicators
fact sheet
35
November
NDIS Practice
45
Full access
N/A
2021
Standards and
Quality Indicators
version 4
36
November
NDIS Practice
47
Full access
N/A
2022
Standards: High
Intensity support
skills descriptors
version 3
37
undated
The University of
36
Full access
N/A
Queensland:
Evidence Matters:
developing quality
behaviour support
plans
38
20/09/2024 Compliance matter
2
Document
N/A
enforcement action
created
applied to provider
under s17 –
who are registered
full access
for BSP group from
2022 to 2024
