Breakdown of costs associated with the NDIS Review
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
I am requesting access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Specifically, I seek documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) that relate to the development, implementation, or discussion of strategies involving "Growth Targets," "Growth Caps," and "Cost Savings" within the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Scope of Request:
1. Internal emails, memos, or directives sent to or from the senior NDIA staff internally or externally between January 2022 and present that reference:
"Growth Targets"
"Growth Caps"
"Cost Savings"
in relation to NDIS participant numbers, scheme cost or plan utlilisation.
2. Minutes of meetings, briefing notes, or reports prepared for or by senior NDIA executives that discuss:
Strategies to manage participant growth
Measures to cap funding growth
Cost-saving initiatives and their projected impacts on service delivery or participant outcomes.
Exclusions:
To streamline this request, I exclude:
Personal information about any individual
Media articles or publicly available documents
Timeframe for Response:
I understand the statutory timeframe for processing FOI requests is 30 days. If my request is likely to attract charges, please inform me of the estimate before proceeding.
I am happy to recieved staged delivery and to coloaborate on the request via teams meeting to conduct a remote document review to help cull out of scope material.
If you require clarification or have suggestions to refine the scope, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Pietsch
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.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
2. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
3. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
4. https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/usi...
5. https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/workin...
6. https://data.ndis.gov.au/
7. mailto:[NDIA request email]
8. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.ndis.gov.au/
11. mailto:[NDIA request email]
Dear Mark Pietsch
Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement & Revision of Scope
Thank you for your request of 14 January 2025, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for copies of documents/information held
by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your Request
You have requested access to:
“…1. Internal emails, memos, or directives sent to or from the senior NDIA
staff internally or externally between January 2022 and present that
reference:
"Growth Targets"
"Growth Caps"
"Cost Savings"
in relation to NDIS participant numbers, scheme cost or plan utlilisation.
2. Minutes of meetings, briefing notes, or reports prepared for or by
senior NDIA executives that discuss:
Strategies to manage participant growth
Measures to cap funding growth
Cost-saving initiatives and their projected impacts on service delivery or
participant outcomes...”
Revision of Scope
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/broad
scope.
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 306,229 individual documents that may fall within
the scope of your request, not including any attachments which may be
contained within those documents.
To reduce the scope of your request, you might like to consider:
o A reduced date range (i.e. three months)
o Names or position titles of the specific senior staff that relate to
the scope of your request.
o Exclude Emails
Please provide us with a revised scope by 12pm Tuesday 18 February 2025,
so that we can continue to process your request.
Irrelevant Information
Section 22 of the FOI Act allows an Agency to redact information from
documents if that information would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant
to a request for access.
Given the nature of your request, it does not seem that NDIA staff
members’ surnames and contact details would be relevant to you. Can you
please send me a reply email confirming that such details are irrelevant
to your request for access?
Disclosure Log
Subject to certain exceptions, documents released under the FOI Act will
be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located on our website.
If you have any concerns about the publication of the documents you have
requested, please contact me.
Next steps
Your request has now been allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker.
We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact us at
[1][NDIA request email].
Regards
Megan
Freedom of Information Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [2][NDIA request email]
[3]NDIA logo
[4]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic
[5]A white sign with green text Description automatically generated
Dear Mark Pietsch
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Megan
Freedom of Information Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [2][NDIA request email]
[3]NDIA logo
[4]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic
[5]A white sign with green text Description automatically generated
From: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Sent: Friday, 14 February 2025 3:05 PM
To: 'Mark Pietsch' <[FOI #12733 email]>
Cc: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: FOI-3 24/25-1105 - Your request for access to documents -
Acknowledgement & Revision of Scope [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Mark Pietsch
Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement & Revision of Scope
Thank you for your request of 14 January 2025, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for copies of documents/information held
by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your Request
You have requested access to:
“…1. Internal emails, memos, or directives sent to or from the senior NDIA
staff internally or externally between January 2022 and present that
reference:
"Growth Targets"
"Growth Caps"
"Cost Savings"
in relation to NDIS participant numbers, scheme cost or plan utlilisation.
2. Minutes of meetings, briefing notes, or reports prepared for or by
senior NDIA executives that discuss:
Strategies to manage participant growth
Measures to cap funding growth
Cost-saving initiatives and their projected impacts on service delivery or
participant outcomes...”
Revision of Scope
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/broad
scope.
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 306,229 individual documents that may fall within
the scope of your request, not including any attachments which may be
contained within those documents.
To reduce the scope of your request, you might like to consider:
o A reduced date range (i.e. three months)
o Names or position titles of the specific senior staff that relate to
the scope of your request.
o Exclude Emails
Please provide us with a revised scope by 12pm Tuesday 18 February 2025,
so that we can continue to process your request.
Irrelevant Information
Section 22 of the FOI Act allows an Agency to redact information from
documents if that information would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant
to a request for access.
Given the nature of your request, it does not seem that NDIA staff
members’ surnames and contact details would be relevant to you. Can you
please send me a reply email confirming that such details are irrelevant
to your request for access?
Disclosure Log
Subject to certain exceptions, documents released under the FOI Act will
be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located on our website.
If you have any concerns about the publication of the documents you have
requested, please contact me.
Next steps
Your request has now been allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker.
We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact us at
[6][NDIA request email].
Regards
Megan
Freedom of Information Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [7][NDIA request email]
[8]NDIA logo
[9]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic
[10]A white sign with green text Description automatically generated