Thank you for your email to the National Disability Insurance Agency
(NDIA) Freedom of Information (FOI) team.
Please note: due to a high volume of requests, our ability to respond to
you in a timely manner may be affected. We will action your request as
soon as possible and will endeavour to process your matter within the
legislative deadlines. We may need to seek your agreement to an extension
of time. We appreciate your understanding if this is required.
Participant Information
Did you know the NDIA has other ways to access the documents and
information that we hold?

Participants, Guardians and Nominees can obtain copies of some participant
information through our National Contact Centre (NCC). For more
information about what’s available through the NCC, please contact 1800
800 110.
Please visit our [1]Access to Information webpage to find out more about
accessing information through:

* The [2]Participant Information Access (PIA) scheme
* The [3]Information Publication Scheme (IPS)
* The [4]myplace portal for participants   
* The [5]myplace portal for providers

Access to Data
You can also request data and statistics. Please visit our [6]Data and
insights webpage page for further information.
If you are able to obtain your information from a source listed above, you
can withdraw your FOI request by emailing [7][NDIA request email]

Further Information
Information about how to make an FOI request can be found on our website:
[8]Freedom of Information
Should you have a query unrelated to FOI, please contact the Agency by
email at [9][email address] or via webchat at [10]ndis.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can also contact us by phoning 1800 800 110.
Kind regards   

Freedom of Information Team 

Complaints Management & FOI Branch

General Counsel Division 

National Disability Insurance Agency 

E [11][NDIA request email]  

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging. 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
2. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
3. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
4. https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/usi...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/usi...
5. https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/workin...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/workin...
6. https://data.ndis.gov.au/
https://data.ndis.gov.au/
7. mailto:[NDIA request email]
mailto:[NDIA request email]
8. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
9. mailto:[email address]
mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.ndis.gov.au/
https://www.ndis.gov.au/
11. mailto:[NDIA request email]

Dear David Wright,

Thank you for your request of 28 August 2024, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for copies of documents held by the
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

Scope of your request

You have requested access to:

         "Several times this year the Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten,
has made reference to "automatic top-up" of plan or funding payments.

I seek all information held by the NDIA containing:

1. Information sought by Minister Shorten or his office from the NDIA
about plan or funding top up payments, which include the word "automatic":

2. Information provided by the NDIA to Minster Shorten or his office about
plan or funding top up payments, which include the word "automatic"

Processing timeframes

The 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 28
August 2024, in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. A
decision from us is due to you by 27 September 2024.

Extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act

To prevent your application from going deemed and to preserve your
internal review rights, I am seeking your agreement to grant me a 15
day-extension of time, making the new due date 18 October 2024. I will
need your response in writing, otherwise your matter will be a deemed
refusal (section 15AC of the FOI Act).

We are required to continue processing your request and provide you with a
decision even after your matter has become deemed, however as mentioned
above, you will loose your internal review rights.

Irrelevant information

Section 22 of the FOI Act permits us to provide FOI applicants with access
to edited copies of documents with irrelevant material deleted.

Disclosure Log

Information released under the FOI Act may be published on the NDIA’s
disclosure log located on our website at [1]FOI Disclosure log |
NDIS.  The disclosure log requirement does not apply to personal
information about any person if publication of that information would be
'unreasonable'.

If you have any concerns about the publication of the information you have
requested, please contact us at [2][NDIA request email].

Action Required

Please respond to this email by 27 September 2024 advising if you agree to
the small extension sought and the removal of surnames and contact details
of NDIA

Further help

Please contact me at [3][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or need
help.

Kind Regards

Kate (KIM627)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Governance, Risk & Legal - Complaints Management and FOI

General Counsel Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E [4][email address]

[5]NDIA logo

[6]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

[7]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

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Dear David

Thank you for your agreement to an extension of time under 15AA of the FOI
Act.

Regarding your request, in its current form, I advise that there is the
potential that your request is leaning towards an unreasonable diversion
of resources due to a lack of clarity there is no clear time frame for me
to conduct searches.

Section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act requires a request to:

            (b) provide such information concerning the document as it
reasonably necessary to enable a responsible office of the agency to
identify it;

Request consultation process

So that I can process your request, and to remove the unreasonable
diversion of resources component, can you please provide a specific range
of the documents you are seeking. For example:

o January 2024 - 28 August 2024 (date of application)

Can you please respond to this email by 5:00pm 1 October 2024 and confirm
agreement with above suggestion or provide an alternate scope.

Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.

Thank you.

Kind regards

Kate (KIM627)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Complaints Management and FOI Branch

General Counsel Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E: [2][NDIA request email]

[3]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency

[4]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

[5]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

show quoted sections

Dear David

I have proceeded with processing this FOI request and at this stage, I am
still awaiting on responses from business areas.

As this matter is now classified as a deemed refusal decision (due to not
meeting the decision deadline), 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 [1][NDIA request email] or by post:

Freedom of Information Section

Complaints Management & FOI Branch

General Counsel Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

GPO Box 700

CANBERRA ACT 2601

I extend my apologies to you and wish to reassure you that I am continuing
to process the request as a matter of priority.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to
[2][NDIA request email]

Kind regards

Kate (KIM627)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Governance, Risk & Legal - Complaints Management and FOI

General Counsel Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E [3][email address]

[4][IMG]

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

show quoted sections

Dear David,

Thank you for your email below.

Unfortunately, it is currently taking longer than we would like to process
FOI requests. This is due to a high volume of FOI requests.

Applying to the OAIC for an extension of time

An agency may apply to the OAIC for an extension of time in two
circumstances.

The first is when an FOI request is complex or voluminous. These
applications are made under section 15AB of the FOI Act and need to be
made before the expiration of the processing period under section 15(5) of
the Act.

The second circumstance in which an agency can apply to OAIC for an
extension of time is described in section 15AC of the Act. This type of
application can occur when the processing period has expired. If OAIC
grant this type of extension, the agency is no longer deemed to have
refused the request. This means that the FOI applicant’s right to an
internal review is preserved.

In the present case, we did not apply for a section 15AB extension because
your request was not complex or voluminous.

In deciding whether to seek an extension under section 15AC, we considered
the Information Commissioner’s Guidelines, which relevantly state:

In considering whether further time may be appropriate, the Information
Commissioner will take into account the details in the agency’s
application, which should address the scope and complexity of the request,
the reasons for delay in making an initial decision, the extension sought,
the estimated total processing time, and whether discussions with the
applicant about the delay and the extension application have occurred. The
Commissioner will also consider the total elapsed processing time and the
desirability of the decision being decided by the agency or minister
rather than by IC review.

As stated, considering your application was neither very large nor
complex, we considered it unlikely that OAIC would grant us an extension
under section 15AC. It seemed to us preferable to work towards providing
you with a decision as soon as we could rather than delaying that by
making what was likely to be an unsuccessful application.

I appreciate your patience as we work to finalise your FOI request in a
timely and efficient manner.

Kind regards

Kate

Freedom of Information Officer

Complaints Management and FOI Branch

General Counsel Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E: [1][NDIA request email]

[2]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency

[3]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

[4]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

show quoted sections