Participant Critical Incidents, Reportable Incidents, and Deaths (June 1, 2022 – Present)
Dear Freedom of Information Officers,
I am writing under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to request data from both the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regarding participant critical incidents, reportable incidents, and deaths. Specifically, I am interested in incidents from June 1, 2022, to the present, where investigations have indicated that lack of action, duty of care failures, errors, or delays associated with the NDIA, the Commission, as well as unmet needs associated with mainstream state-funded services, may have contributed to these incidents.
Please provide the following:
Total numbers of participant critical incidents (PCIs), reportable incidents, and deaths:
- Include cases where investigations have noted that actions, inactions, duty of care failures, as well as errors or delays by the NDIA or the Commission, were contributing factors.
-Data should also indicate where instances where unmet needs associated with mainstream state-funded services were identified as a contributing factor.
-Please break down this data monthly.
Total numbers of participants who were waiting on:
-Equipment or Assistive Technology (AT) approval,
-Section 48 reviews,
-New plan approvals,
-Indicate how many of these participants died or suffered an injury while waiting, with data also provided on a monthly basis, and the number of days waiting.
This information is crucial for assessing the impact of service delivery and response efficacy on participant safety and well-being, especially in relation to interagency coordination and support in addition to identifying gaps required to be addressed in the co-design of foundational support.
Should there be any costs associated with processing this request, please provide an estimate before proceeding. If certain parts of this request are too broad or pose difficulties in processing, I am open to suggestions for how to modify the request to expedite processing.
I look forward to your timely response within the statutory 30-day period.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
Mark
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Dear Mr Pietsch
Thank you for your email received by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) on 2 October 2024, in which you requested access to documents under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
Your request for documents
You have requested access to the following documents:
Data from both the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regarding participant critical incidents, reportable incidents, and deaths. Specifically, I am interested in incidents from June 1, 2022, to the present, where investigations have indicated that lack of action, duty of care failures, errors, or delays associated with the NDIA, the Commission, as well as unmet needs associated with mainstream state-funded services, may have contributed to these incidents.
Please provide the following:
Total numbers of participant critical incidents (PCIs), reportable incidents, and deaths:
- Include cases where investigations have noted that actions, inactions, duty of care failures, as well as errors or delays by the NDIA or the Commission, were contributing factors.
-Data should also indicate where instances where unmet needs associated with mainstream state-funded services were identified as a contributing factor.
-Please break down this data monthly.
Total numbers of participants who were waiting on:
-Equipment or Assistive Technology (AT) approval, -Section 48 reviews, -New plan approvals, -Indicate how many of these participants died or suffered an injury while waiting, with data also provided on a monthly basis, and the number of days waiting.
FOI requests to other agencies
As the NDIS Commission does not have access to documents held by the NDIA, I have transferred those parts of your request to the NDIA for attention in accordance with section 16 of the FOI Act.
Any further communication with regard to documents held by the NDIA will be sent to you from those agencies.
Timeline
The statutory period for processing your request is 30 days commencing from the day after your request was received. The due date for a decision on access is 1 November 2024.
The 30-day period may be extended under certain conditions, for instance where documents contain information regarding third parties and consultation is required. We will advise you if this happens and of any adjustment to the request due date.
Possible third-party consultation
If consultation with third-parties is required for any documents in scope of your request, can you please advise whether you consent to be identified as the FOI applicant for the purposes of that consultation. Your consent is voluntary, however it can assist third parties to form their views on release if they can know who is requesting access to their information.
Verifying identity
Where documents contain personal information the NDIS Commission must satisfy itself that FOI applicants are entitled to access that information.
If you are seeking access to documents that contain your own personal information, please provide evidence of your identity (acceptable identity documents include a certified copy of a passport, an Australian driver’s licence, or any official identification in the English language which contains your photo, signature and address).
If you are seeking access to documents that contain the personal information of other individual/s, please provide a signed letter of consent from the other individual/s to establish that you are authorised to access their information.
Please note that processing of your request will continue, but the NDIS Commission will not be able to release personal information without receiving evidence of your identity, or the consent of any other individual/s that may be required.
The NSID Commission’s Privacy Collection Statement and Privacy Policy provide information about the collection and use of personal information for agency purposes. In this instance, any personal information and identity document you provide will be stored in Commission records and only be used by the FOI team to facilitate processing of your Freedom of Information request.
Removal of irrelevant information
Section 22 of the FOI Act provides for the removal of material that is not relevant to the scope of a request. Where you are not specifically seeking personal information in the scope of your request, the personal information of Commission staff below Senior Executive Service (SES) level, and the personal information of other individuals will be treated as irrelevant material and removed from the documents. We also propose to remove duplicate documents and provide the final email in any email chains.
Next steps
Can you now please respond to this email and
• provide your identity documents and signed consent of third parties where required,
• confirm whether you consent to be identified as the FOI applicant for the purposes of any third-party consultation that may be required, and
• confirm that you do not seek the personal information of staff below SES level and consent to the removal of duplicate documents and the provision of the final email in any email chains.
Please provide you response by COB Wednesday 9 October 2024.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the FOI process or would like to discuss this email.
Kind regards,
Deepika
Freedom of Information Unit
Legal Services and Internal Integrity Division
W: www.ndiscommission.gov.au
E: [email address]
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission acknowledges the traditional owners 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 both past and present.
Dear Mark Pietsch
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:
“ I am writing under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to request data
from both the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the NDIS
Quality and Safeguards Commission regarding participant critical
incidents, reportable incidents, and deaths. Specifically, I am interested
in incidents from June 1, 2022, to the present, where investigations have
indicated that lack of action, duty of care failures, errors, or delays
associated with the NDIA, the Commission, as well as unmet needs
associated with mainstream state-funded services, may have contributed to
these incidents.
Please provide the following:
Total numbers of participant critical incidents (PCIs), reportable
incidents, and deaths:
- Include cases where investigations have noted that actions, inactions,
duty of care failures, as well as errors or delays by the NDIA or the
Commission, were contributing factors.
-Data should also indicate where instances where unmet needs associated
with mainstream state-funded services were identified as a contributing
factor.
-Please break down this data monthly.
Total numbers of participants who were waiting on:
-Equipment or Assistive Technology (AT) approval, -Section 48 reviews,
-New plan approvals, -Indicate how many of these participants died or
suffered an injury while waiting, with data also provided on a monthly
basis, and the number of days waiting.
This information is crucial for assessing the impact of service delivery
and response efficacy on participant safety and well-being, especially in
relation to interagency coordination and support in addition to
identifying gaps required to be addressed in the co-design of foundational
support.”
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 1
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][email address].
Regards
Mykal
Freedom of Information Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [2][email address]
[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
Dear Mr Pietsch,
Please find attached decision made by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the NDIS Commission) in relation to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request, received by the NDIS Commission on 2 October 2024.
Should you have any queries, please contact the NDIS Commission by return email.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Unit
Internal Integrity Unit | Legal Services and Internal Integrity Division
E: [NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission request email] | W: www.ndiscommission.gov.au
Note: This email and any attachments may contain confidential or legally privileged information (and neither are waived or lost if this email has been sent to you by mistake). If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose, copy or retain it. If you have received it in error, please let me know by reply email and then delete this email from your system and do not retain any copy. Recipients within the NDIS Commission should seek assistance from General Counsel before disseminating this email to third parties or using this advice for a different matter.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission acknowledges the traditional owners 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 both past and present.