More specific information about the NDIS independent assessment trials and Plena/Healthstrong
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
1. In relation to the decision to engage two additional organisations to join the
Independent Assessment pilot:
a. could any notes, minutes, memoranda, letters, other external or internal correspondence, emails and/or Microsoft Office Communicator conversations relating to this decision be provided between CEO Martin Hoffman and representatives of Plena Healthcare and Healthstrong;
b. How did the NDIA hear about the organisations Plena Healthcare and Healthstrong and determine that they were suitable for the provision of independent assessments, given that they both had new Directors and were new entrants to the market in this space?
c. could any notes, minutes, memoranda, letters, other external or internal correspondence, texts messages or emails between the NDIA and representatives from the following organisations from the period between 1 May 2019 and 1 May 2021 *only* in relation to the appointment of Plena Healthcare and Healthstrong and any perceived or actual conflict of interest be provided:
i. Plena Healthcare;
ii. Murto Pty Ltd;
iii. Zenitas Healthcare;
iv. HealthStrong; and
v. Medibank.
d. could any notes, minutes, memoranda, letters, other external or internal correspondence, texts messages or emails between the NDIA and representatives from the following individuals from between 1 May 2019 and 1 May 2021 only in relation to the appointment of Plena Healthcare and any perceived or actual conflict of interest:
i. Mr Robert De Luca;
ii. Mr Anthony Vella;
iii. Mr Trent Tolra; and
iv. Mr Mark Rogers.
Yours faithfully,
Karen Reynolds
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Dear Karen Reynolds
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request. If you
require the attachment in a different format, please let us know.
We will process your request as quickly as possible. We will also keep in
regular contact with you, especially if there's any delay. At this stage,
you can expect to hear from us on or before 1 July 2021.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
[2]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
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1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
Dear Karen Reynolds
Thank you for your request for information.
We’re sorry to let you know that it’s taken us longer than expected to
process your request. This is because of the extensive number of
consultations required to identify the documents that may be in scope of
your request, due to its complex nature.
We are therefore writing to seek your agreement to a 30 day extension of
time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. This will make your new due date
1 August 2021.
Please let us know whether you agree by 5:00pm 24 June 2021.
If you don’t agree to the extension as, if not, we may need to seek an
extension from the Office of Australian Information Commissioner under
section 15AB of the FOI Act.
We’re sorry that it’s taken us longer than expected and we appreciate your
patience.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
[2]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
References
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1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
Our reference: RQ21/01619
Agency reference: FOI 20/21-0804
Ms Karen Reynolds
Sent by email: [1][FOI #7326 email]
Extension of time application by the National Disability Insurance Agency
Dear Ms Reynolds
I write to advise that on 25 June 2021 the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (the OAIC) received an application from the
National Disability Insurance Agency (the NDIA) for an extension of time,
to process your FOI request.
The NDIA has applied for an extension of time under s 15AB of the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (Cth) because your request is considered to be
complex.
The NDIA has advised the OAIC that:
o On 1 June 2021, the NDIA received your FOI request.
o The NDIA has advised that recently a large number of FOI requests were
received within a short period of time.
o The NDIA considers your request to be complex in nature and are yet to
identify all documents within the scope of your request.
o The NDIA further advises that it is still in the process of liaising
with multiple business areas and managers to ensure careful
consideration of documents captured and potential sensitivities.
o The NDIA has advised that due to staff engagement involving additional
senate estimates and multiple Committee hearings, this impacted the
NDIA’s ability to conduct FOI consultations and searches.
o A further complexity involved the major structural changes with key
staff to address and resolve the staffing shortage due to the
significantly increased workload.
o In order to make an informed and proper decision, the NDIA requires
additional time to continue engaging with relevant business areas to
finalise additional searches and finalise the decision.
The NDIA has requested an extension to 2 August 2021.I will take any
comments you may have to make into account when deciding the application.
Please respond to this email by close of business 30 June 2021.If I do not
hear from you by this date, the decision maker will make a decision on the
basis of the information provided to me by the NDIA.
You will be notified of the decision once the matter has been finalised.
Further information about extension of time requests may be found on our
website at [2]Extensions of time.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact me on (02)
9284 9847 or via email [3][email address]. Please quote OAIC
reference number at the top of this email in all correspondence.
Sincerely
[4][IMG] Jasmin Clarke | Assistant
Review and Investigation
Advisor
Investigations and Compliance
Freedom of information
Regulatory Group
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[5]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9847 |
[6][email address]
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Our reference: RQ21/01619
Agency reference: FOI 20/21-0804
Ms Karen Reynolds
Sent by email: [1][FOI #7326 email]
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Ms Reynolds
Please find attached a decision of today’s date for an extension of time
from the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Sincerely
[2][IMG] Jasmin Clarke | Assistant
Review and Investigation
Advisor
Investigations and Compliance
Freedom of information
Regulatory Group
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[3]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9847 |
[4][email address]
[8]Subscribe [9]Subscribe to
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From: Jasmin Clarke
Sent: Monday, 28 June 2021 2:33 PM
To: [FOI #7326 email]
Subject: RQ21/01619 - Extension of time application by the National
Disability Insurance Agency- Consultation [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Our reference: RQ21/01619
Agency reference: FOI 20/21-0804
Ms Karen Reynolds
Sent by email: [10][FOI #7326 email]
Extension of time application by the National Disability Insurance Agency
Dear Ms Reynolds
I write to advise that on 25 June 2021 the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner (the OAIC) received an application from the
National Disability Insurance Agency (the NDIA) for an extension of time,
to process your FOI request.
The NDIA has applied for an extension of time under s 15AB of the Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (Cth) because your request is considered to be
complex.
The NDIA has advised the OAIC that:
o On 1 June 2021, the NDIA received your FOI request.
o The NDIA has advised that recently a large number of FOI requests were
received within a short period of time.
o The NDIA considers your request to be complex in nature and are yet to
identify all documents within the scope of your request.
o The NDIA further advises that it is still in the process of liaising
with multiple business areas and managers to ensure careful
consideration of documents captured and potential sensitivities.
o The NDIA has advised that due to staff engagement involving additional
senate estimates and multiple Committee hearings, this impacted the
NDIA’s ability to conduct FOI consultations and searches.
o A further complexity involved the major structural changes with key
staff to address and resolve the staffing shortage due to the
significantly increased workload.
o In order to make an informed and proper decision, the NDIA requires
additional time to continue engaging with relevant business areas to
finalise additional searches and finalise the decision.
The NDIA has requested an extension to 2 August 2021.I will take any
comments you may have to make into account when deciding the application.
Please respond to this email by close of business 30 June 2021.If I do not
hear from you by this date, the decision maker will make a decision on the
basis of the information provided to me by the NDIA.
You will be notified of the decision once the matter has been finalised.
Further information about extension of time requests may be found on our
website at [11]Extensions of time.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact me on (02)
9284 9847 or via email [12][email address]. Please quote OAIC
reference number at the top of this email in all correspondence.
Sincerely
[13][IMG] Jasmin Clarke | Assistant
Review and Investigation
Advisor
Investigations and Compliance
Freedom of information
Regulatory Group
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW
2001 | [14]oaic.gov.au
+61 2 9284 9847 |
[15][email address]
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Dear Karen Reynolds
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request. If you
require this in a different format, please let us know.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Thank you.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information Officer
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
[2]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
References
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1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of National Disability Insurance Agency's handling of my FOI request 'More specific information about the NDIS independent assessment trials and Plena/Healthstrong'.
This matter is still firmly in the public interest and should be a matter of public record and available to those who want to know the circumstances of how this transpired.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/m...
Yours faithfully,
Karen Reynolds
Hello and thank you for writing to the FOI inbox.
Please be advised that during the upcoming holiday period, the NDIA
offices will be closed from Friday 24 December 2021 until Tuesday 4
January 2022.
As such, if you make an FOI request that falls due during this period, we
will be unable to process it by the relevant deadline. Our FOI officers
will be in touch to discuss a short extension of time with you to allow
for processing as quickly as possible.
If we receive an FOI request from you during the period of shut down,
noted above, our staff will not be able to commence processing the matter
or respond to any queries until Tuesday 4 January 2022.
If you are requesting your personal documents only, please consider
submitting your request through [1][email address] or
through our [2]Participant Information Access (PIA) web-form.
Kind regards
NDIA FOI Team
Email: [3][email address]
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3. mailto:[email address]
Dear Karen Reynolds,
Thank you for your request for an internal review, relating to the
decision made for FOI 20/21-0805. We have attached the notice of decision
for your ease of reference.
As the decision for this matter was issued to you on 30 July 2021, as
internal review requests must be made in writing with 30 days from the
date of the decision, I am writing to advise that your internal review
rights have expired. In Attachment B to the decision letter, we did
provide advice in relation to internal reviews.
Also in Attachment B, we advised that a request for a review of the
decision to the OAIC must be submitted with 60 days of the original
decision. As this period has also lapsed, there are no options under which
we can review the original decision, FOI 20/21-0805.
I hope this information is of assistance.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Team
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [1][NDIA request email]
[2]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Karen Reynolds <[FOI #7326 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 5 February 2022 1:24 AM
To: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - More specific
information about the NDIS independent assessment trials and
Plena/Healthstrong
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of National Disability
Insurance Agency's handling of my FOI request 'More specific information
about the NDIS independent assessment trials and Plena/Healthstrong'.
This matter is still firmly in the public interest and should be a matter
of public record and available to those who want to know the circumstances
of how this transpired.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[3]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/m...
Yours faithfully,
Karen Reynolds
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
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Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
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