Our reference: FOI 24/25-0607
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
ndis.gov.au
18 February 2025
Clementine Saber
Right to Know
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Clementine Saber
Freedom of Information request — Request consultation process
Thank you for your correspondence of 22 October 2024, in which you requested access
under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the National
Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the fol owing documents:
“Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
I'm writing to request access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982:
(1). Al internal guidance and policy documents available for staff in the Scheme
Eligibility Branch that address visual impairment and/or permanent blindness.
(2). Al research, digest, or other documents created by the Technical Advice and
Improvement Branch that address visual impairment and/or permanent blindness.
(3). Al internal guidance and policy documents regarding NDIS eligibility with “List A”,
“List B”, and “List D”.
Please include all identified documents in full. I consider all parts of a document to be
relevant, even if those parts are addressing topics other than the above.
I can be contacted at this address if you require further information or clarification.
Thank you for your assistance.”
You have revised the scope of your request to be for the following documents:
“Narrowed Scope:
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(1). Al internal guidance [ie. knowledge articles and standard operating procedures]
and policy documents available [currently] for staff in the Scheme Eligibility Branch
that address visual impairment and/or permanent blindness.
(2). Al research [and] digest [REMOVE TEXT “or other”] documents created by the
Technical Advice and Improvement Branch that address visual impairment and/or
permanent blindness.
(3). Al [current] internal guidance [ie. knowledge articles and standard operating
procedures] and policy documents regarding NDIS eligibility with “List A”, “List B”,
and “List D”.
Please include all identified documents in full. I consider all parts of a document to be
relevant, even if those parts are addressing topics other than the above.”
Practical refusal
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I am writing to advise that the work involved in processing your request in its current form
would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other
operations due to its size. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of
the FOI Act.
On this basis, I intend to refuse your request. However, before I make a final decision, I am
writing to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request. This is called a ‘request
consultation process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act. You have 14 days to
respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.
Why I intend to refuse your request
On 19 December 2024, we requested that you narrow the scope of your request because it
appears to be large. I note that you provided a revised scope, however the scope is stil
voluminous.
I have conducted a preliminary search for documents which are likely to be relevant to your
request. This search has revealed that the NDIA is in possession of more than 86 individual
documents matching the scope of your request, not including any attachments which may be
contained within those documents.
On my reasonable estimate, I consider that there is more than 860 pages worth of material
that falls within the scope of your request as currently worded. At a conservative estimate of
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1 minute per page, this would take an FOI officer more than 14 hours to simply review and
collate the documents.
The documents that are assessed as being within scope of the request wil then need to be
reviewed for any sensitivities and possible exemption under the FOI Act and scheduled, we
wil need to consider any consultations and carry these out if required, a decision wil need to
be made on each document, and a decision letter prepared. This wil significantly increase
the hours that it wil take an FOI officer to process your request.
As a result, I am of the view that the work involved in the processing of this request would
substantial y and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations.
Request consultation process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed.
Revising your request can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make it more
manageable or explaining in more detail the documents you wish to access. For example, by
providing more specific information about exactly what documents you are interested in, the
NDIA wil be able to pinpoint the documents more quickly and avoid using excessive
resources to process documents you are not interested in.
To reduce the scope of your request, you might like to consider:
•
Al research documents created by TAPIB currently used by the branch to inform
policy or support requests related to visual impairment and/or permanent blindness
You have 14 days from the date you receive this letter to contact me and do one of the
following:
a. withdraw your request
b. make a revised request
c. indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance to revise your request. If you revise
your request in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal reason outlined above,
we wil recommence processing it.
Please note that the time taken to consult with you regarding the scope of your request is not
taken into account for the purposes of the timeframe for processing your request.
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You can contact me by email
at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. Alternatively, you can reply in writing to the following address:
Freedom of Information Section
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
GPO Box 700
CANBERRA ACT 2601
If you do not contact me within this period, that is by
20 February 2025, your FOI request
wil be taken to have been withdrawn under subsection 24AB(7) and wil not be dealt with
any further.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Cooper (CHH674)
Team Leader/Senior FOI Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
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