Our reference: FOI 24/25-1290
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
15 April 2025
ndis.gov.au
Bob Buckley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Bob Buckley
Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 14 February 2025
(your correspondence), seeking
access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the
National Disability Insurance Agency
(NDIA).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request.
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the fol owing documents:
"...Please provide, in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of
Information ACT, the numbers of autistic NDIS participants each 6 months since
2019 broken down by:
a) their autism severity into mild, moderate, severe, and profound; and
b) wherther autism is their primary or secondary disability"
Processing Timeframes
The FOI Act provides 30 calendar days for the processing of an FOI request after it is
received. As your valid FOI request was received on 14 February 2025, the original due date
for your request was 19 March 2025.
On 20 February 2025, the FOI Team wrote to you requesting your agreement to a 30-day
extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. As we did not receive a response from
you, the original due date stil stands.
As we were unable to provide you with a decision on your request by the legislated due date,
your application is regarded as a deemed refusal under section 15AC of the FOI Act.
Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and
confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision. Details are set out
in
Attachment B to this letter.
Searches conducted
Searches were conducted by the following business area for documents relevant to the
scope of your FOI request:
• Analytics, Data and Actuarial (ADA) Division
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I note your request specified that you would like the autism severity broken down into the
categories; mild, moderate, severe and profound. After discussions with the ADA Division,
we were advised that these severity labels are only specific to a particular functional
assessment tool, and that the closest possible option would be to provide information using
the NDIA’s Level of Function severity labels.
On 5 March 2025, I emailed you to explain the above and sought your agreement to us
providing you with information using these severity labels. On 6 March 2025 you responded
to my email accepting the above.
ADA have advised that the grouping of severity labels is consistent with the agency’s
reporting.
Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that an agency can produce a written document
containing the requested information, by the use of a computer or other equipment that is
ordinarily available for retrieving or collating stored information. We have been able to
produce a document containing the information you requested. I have, therefore, treated
your request as if it were a request for access to this document in accordance with section
17(1)(c) of the FOI Act.
As a result of this search, one (1) document was located, this search was undertaken
between 20 February and 27 March 2025 and was overseen by senior staff.
Decision
I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make a decision on
this FOI request.
I have decided to:
• Grant access in full to 1 document.
In reaching my decision I considered:
• Your correspondence from 14 February and 6 March 2025 outlining the scope of
your request, and agreeance to modifying the scope of your request in line with the
NDIA’s severity labels
• Consultation with the relevant officers within the ADA Division regarding data they
can provide that is relevant to the scope of your request
• The Objects of the FOI Act set out in section 3
• The FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act, particularly part
3.210 to 3.216 which gives guidance on when an agency is required to produce a
document under section 17 of the FOI Act
The decision in relation to the document is detailed in the schedule of documents at
Attachment A.
Rights of review
Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at
Attachment B.
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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 (PHO293)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-1290
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
Comments
number
number
1
1
Section 17 Document – Data and Statistics -
FULL ACCESS
Document created under
Participants with Autism
section 17 of the FOI Act
Date: Not Applicable
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ATTACHMENT B
Your review rights
As this matter was a deemed refusal, internal review of this decision is not an option.
However, if you have concern with any aspect of this decision, please contact the NDIA FOI
team by email
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or by post:
Freedom of Information Section
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
GPO Box 700
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
The FOI Act 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:
Onli
ne: 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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