Records of compensation for Participant Service Guarantee and other breaches
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
I request access to the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:
A record of: payments/remuneration/compensation/funds 'ex gratis'/disbursements/penalties paid to NDIS participants, deriving from the NDIA failing to uphold their legislated guarantees and obligations, including (but not limited to) the Participant Service Guarantee.
Included in Scope:
- Decisions resulting in a financial distribution to a participant, with corresponding receipt record
- Internal reviews, AAT/ART tribunal decisions, Commonwealth Ombudsman complaints
- Any other 'ex gratis' payments made by the NDIS/NDIA where funds were given to a participant outside the scope of a funded plan, even where no liability was found or accepted
Excluded from Scope:
- Any complaints that do not result in a payment, and corresponding receipt record
- Payments made under an NDIS plan
- Payments/adjustments relating to 'personal injury/disability' compensation/CRA relating to plan funding - not the definition of 'compensation' as intended by this FOI request.
- Any complaints relating to NDIS service providers.
Format of Results Data:
A table/spreadsheet of each compensation payment made, with the following columns:
- Date of payment
- Payment amount
- Source department of payment, identifying the title/department of the deciding/authorising party (e.g. the AAT, the Minister for NDIS, the Commonwealth Ombudsman etc)
- The unique internal reference, tribunal case number, ombudsman reference for the payment
- A non-identifying summary of the payment reason/cause, summarised from any correspondence with the participant.
Regards,
BS
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:
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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 BS
We are writing to advise that your request for information (below) is not a valid FOI request under s15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, so as such we are unable to commence processing it.
To be valid, a FOI request must:
* be in writing
* state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act
* provide information about the document(s) to assist us to process your request
* provide an address for reply.
We have made enquiries with 4 separate business areas and unfortunately none of them have been able to interpret your request.
As such, if you would like your request to be processed under FOI, we require your written instruction to process your request under the FOI Act.
Please reply to this email and provide information about the document(s) to assist us to process your request
This will advise whether you would like to proceed to have your request processed under FOI.
Once we receive confirmation we will begin to process the request. We are sorry to advise that if we do not receive a response from you by 10 April 2025, the FOI team will be unable to process your request.
Kind Regards
Alana AFW410
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
T 1800 800 110 E [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.
Thankyou for your reply.
As per section 24AB(2e) of the Freedom of Information Act, the minimum period for consultation is 14 days with the applicant. Your request for a response by the 10th of April, 2 days after your email, is in contravention of the Act.
You also failed to specify which 'business areas' you have and have not consulted. Please provide a list as to which departments you have queried, and which you have not, so I can assist with scope.
To generalise my request; I want the records of all payments made to NDIS participants as financial compensation for NDIA complaints. Once you grasp this scope I will be happy to assist with narrowing the scoped data.
I would be able to assist in narrowing the scope of search if I was provided a copy of the NDIA chart of accounts, to clarify to you which specific cost centre would be relevant for 'compensation as paid' (or similar expenses description).
Regards
BS
Dear BS
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence and documents in relation to your
request. If you require these in a different format, please let us know.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Alana AFW410
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
T 1800 800 110 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
BS left an annotation ()
The wording of the response from the NDIA implies that there are no records of compensation, because no compensation has been paid by the NDIA for these breaches.
Unfortunately without further insight as to where to find such information, I have no other avenues to pursue to clarify if NDIS participants have been recompensed for PSG breaches.
Should a future reader have any insights they would be greatly appreciated.