evidence supporting occupational therapists on s10 "Supports that are ‘NDIS supports’" list for autistic children

Response to this request is delayed. By law, National Disability Insurance Agency should normally have responded promptly and by (details)

Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
The new "Supports that are ‘NDIS supports’" list released on 1/10/2024 indicates under "Early intervention supports for early childhood" that "therapy provided by ... occupational therapists" is an "NDIS support" for children which includes autistic children.
Please provide, under the provisions of the FoI Act 1982, all evidence held by the NDIA that shows explicitly that occupational therapy "achieves better long-term outcomes for" autistic children than either doing nothing or so-called treatment-as-usual (TAU). Or any other information that justifies including "occupational therapists" on the list of NDIS supports.

Yours faithfully,
Bob Buckley

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

Thank you for your email to the National Disability Insurance Agency
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Kind regards   

Freedom of Information Team 

Complaints Management & FOI Branch

General Counsel Division 

National Disability Insurance Agency 

E [11][NDIA request email]  

  

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Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
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References

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11. mailto:[NDIA request email]

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

3 Attachments

Dear Bob Buckley

 

Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement

 

Thank you for your request of 2 October 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:

 

“ ……The new "Supports that are ‘NDIS supports’" list released on 1/10/2024
indicates under "Early intervention supports for early childhood" that
"therapy provided by ... occupational therapists" is an "NDIS support" for
children which includes autistic children.

 

Please provide, under the provisions of the FoI Act 1982, all evidence
held by the NDIA that shows explicitly that occupational therapy "achieves
better long-term outcomes for" autistic children than either doing nothing
or so-called treatment-as-usual (TAU). Or any other information that
justifies including "occupational therapists" on the list of NDIS
supports...”

 

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?

 

Processing Timeframes

 

In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from 3 October 2024. This
30-day period expires on 1 November 2024.

 

The 30-day period can be extended in a number of ways, including with your
agreement.

 

Unfortunately, it is currently taking us a little longer than 30 days to
process FOI requests. I am therefore seeking your agreement to a 30-day
extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to this
extension, the new due date for us to decide on your request will be 2
December 2024.

 

If you do not agree and we are unable to process your request within the
30-day period expiring on 1 November 2024, we will be deemed to have
refused your request and you will not have a right to seek internal review
of that decision. You will, however, retain your right to external review
by the Australian Information Commissioner.

 

Please let us know if you agree by 28 October 2024.

 

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 will be allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker. The
decision-maker may need to contact you to discuss a range of matters,
including refining the scope of your request.

 

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.

 

In the meantime, if you have any questions or need help, please contact us
at [1][NDIA request email].

 

Regards

 

Mykal

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

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

 

 

 

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Dear foi,
I confirm that NDIA staff members’ surnames and contact details would not be relevant to me.
I grant an extension of 30 days.

Yours sincerely,
Bob Buckley

Dear foi,
I do not need the surnames of officials as long as their position/role is clear.
I agree to a 30-day extension.
I have no concern about any relevant material being published - on the contrary, I believe the information requested should be public.

Yours sincerely,
Bob Buckley