On 20 April 2025, you replied to our request for confirmation as follows:
I write to confirm that I seek "FOI stats submissions made to the OAIC by
the NDIA across the period January 2021 – 21 March 2025" (the being the
date on my FoI request and the limit such a request).
Note - if the OAIC publishes precisely the information that the NDIA
provides to the OAIC (and I can access it), then what I am requesting is in
the public domain and you need not provide it.
Decision
I am an officer authorised under section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make decisions in
relation to FOI requests on behalf of the OAIC.
Subject to the following provisions of the FOI Act, I have made a decision to grant
full access to one document.
Searches undertaken
The FOI Act requires that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate
documents within scope of an FOI request.
In response to your request, the following line area of the OAIC conducted
searches for documents relevant to you request:
• Data Analytics (Regulatory Intelligence and Strategy Branch)
Searches were conducted across the OAIC’s various document storage systems
including:
• the OAIC’s case management system - Resolve
• the OAIC’s document holding system – Content Manager
• OAIC’s email system
• general computer files
• paper files
• FOI Statistics portal.
The following search terms were used when undertaking electronic records
searches:
• Annual and quarterly statistics data for NDIS/NDIA for January 2021 – 21
March 2025
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Creation of a document in response to your FOI request (section 17)
Under section 17 of the FOI Act, if an FOI request is made for a document that
could be produced by using a computer ordinarily available to the agency for
retrieving or collating stored information, an agency is required to deal with the
request as if it was a request for written documents to which the FOI Act applies.
A spreadsheet was provided by the line area, containing a raw export of quarterly
and annual data from the administrator portal of the OAIC FOI Statistics portal
(https://foistats.oaic.gov.au/). Pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act, this data was
converted into a document created for easier readability.
Having consulted with the relevant line area and undertaken a review of the
records of the search and retrieval efforts, I am satisfied that a reasonable search
has been undertaken in response to your request and that all relevant information
has been found.
Reasons for decision
Material taken into account
In making my decision, I have had regard to the following:
• your FOI request dated 21 March 2025;
• the FOI Act, in particular sections 3, 11, 11A, 15 and 26 of the FOI Act;
• the Guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under
section 93A of the FOI Act to which regard must be had in performing a
function or exercising a power under the FOI Act (FOI Guidelines); and
• consultation with the relevant line area of the OAIC in relation to your
request.
As the NDIA has not submitted the relevant data from December 2024 to 21 March
2025, this information is not yet available. Accordingly, the document does not
include this data set.
I have made a decision to grant
full access to one document.
Further information
As mentioned in our email to you dated 15 April 2025, you may wish to view the
OAIC FOI Statistics portal, a resource that contains information similar to the
information you are seeking in this request. You can access the statistics portal at
Australian Government freedom of information statistics | OAIC.
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Disclosure log decision
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires the OAIC to publish documents released
under the FOI Act on the OAIC’s disclosure log within 10 days of release, except if
they contain personal or business information that would be unreasonable to
publish.
I have made a decision to publish the document subject to your request on the
OAIC’s disclosure log.
Release of document
The document is enclosed for release.
The document is identified in the
attached schedule of documents.
Please see the following page for information about your review rights.
Yours sincerely
Marguerite Wilson-Foreman
Assistant Director, Governance, Risk & Compliance (FOI and Privacy)
22 April 2025
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If you disagree with my decision
Internal review
You have the right to apply for an internal review of my decision under Part VI of the
FOI Act. An internal review will be conducted, to the extent possible, by an officer
of the OAIC who was not involved in or consulted in the making of my decision. If
you wish to apply for an internal review, you must do so in writing within 30 days.
There is no application fee for internal review.
If you wish to apply for an internal review, please mark your application for the
attention of the FOI Coordinator and state the grounds on which you consider that
my decision should be reviewed.
Applications for internal reviews can be submitted to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5228
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Alternatively, you can submit your application by email to xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by
fax on 02 9284 9666.
Further review
You have the right to seek review of this decision by the Information Commissioner
and the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
You may apply to the Information Commissioner for a review of my decision (IC
review). If you wish to apply for IC review, you must do so in writing within 60 days.
Your application must provide an address (which can be an email address or fax
number) that we can send notices to, and include a copy of this letter. A request
for IC review can be made in relation to my decision, or an internal review
decision.
It is the Information Commissioner’s view that it will usually not be in the interests
of the administration of the FOI Act to conduct an IC review of a decision, or an
internal review decision, made by the agency that the Information Commissioner
heads: the OAIC. For this reason, if you make an application for IC review of my
decision, and the Information Commissioner is satisfied that in the interests of
administration of the Act it is desirable that my decision be considered by the ART,
the Information Commissioner may decide not to undertake an IC review.
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Section 57A of the FOI Act provides that, before you can apply to the ART for review
of an FOI decision, you must first have applied for IC review.
Applications for IC review can be submitted online at:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=I
CR 10
Alternatively, you can submit your application to:
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5228
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or by email to xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by fax on 02 9284 9666.
Accessing your information
If you would like access to the information that we hold about you, please contact
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. More information is available on the Access our information page
on our website.
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