Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Previously, FOI 23/24-0029 revealed the existence of the NDIA's AAT Case Management Guide for Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) 4/1/2023. Subsequently, FOI 23/24-201 showed the guide was meant to be reviewed 6-monthly.
Please provide all information (since 4/1/2023), in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, relating to any and all reviews or the disposition of the aforementioned Guide and any revised versions or replacement guides.
Please include (but not limited to):
1. information, advice, recommendations, etc. that are outcomes of from reviews conducted.
2. information relating to the scheduling, conduct, and to inform the review process for the guide.
3. changes to the disposition of the guide.
4. community concerns about the guide and the NDIA's considerations of those concerns.

Yours faithfully,
Bob Buckley

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

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

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You can also request data and statistics. Please visit our [6]Data and
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If you are able to obtain your information from a source listed above, you
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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. 

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Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
The due date for my FoI request (22/7/2024) is now passed without your response.
Please provide an update on your progress with this request.
Yours faithfully,

Bob Buckley

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

3 Attachments

Dear Bob Buckley

 

Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement

 

Thank you for your request of 22 July 2024, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for access to a document/documents held by
the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

 

Scope of you request

You have requested access to:

 

“Dear National Disability Insurance Agency, Previously, FOI 23/24-0029
revealed the existence of the NDIA's AAT Case Management Guide for Applied
Behaviour Analysis (ABA) 4/1/2023. Subsequently, FOI 23/24-201 showed the
guide was meant to be reviewed 6-monthly.

Please provide all information (since 4/1/2023), in accordance with the
Freedom of Information Act, relating to any and all reviews or the
disposition of the aforementioned Guide and any revised versions or
replacement guides.

Please include (but not limited to):

1. information, advice, recommendations, etc. that are outcomes of from
reviews conducted.

2. information relating to the scheduling, conduct, and to inform the
review process for the guide.

3. changes to the disposition of the guide.

4. community concerns about the guide and the NDIA's considerations of
those concerns.”

 

Processing timeframes

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 23
July 2024, in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. Therefore,
the due date for a decision on access was 21 August 2024. However, I note
this time has lapsed and as a result we are deemed to have refused your
application under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

 

We sincerely apologise for the delay. We confirm we are continuing to
process your request for information and will ensure to provide you the
documents as soon as practical.

 

Disclosure log

Information released under the FOI Act may be published on our disclosure
log, located on our website at [1]FOI Disclosure log | NDIS.

 

If you have any concerns about the publication of the information you have
requested, please contact us at [2][NDIA request email].

 

Irrelevant information

Section 22 of the FOI Act permits us to provide FOI applicants with access
to edited copies of documents with irrelevant material deleted. Can you
please contact us at [3][NDIA request email] to advise whether the surnames and
contact details of NDIA staff are irrelevant to your request?

 

Further help

Please contact us at [4][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or need
help.

 

We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise us if you would prefer us to use another means of contact.

 

Regards

 

Patrick (PHO293)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Complaints Management and FOI Branch

National Disability Insurance Agency

E [5][NDIA request email]  

[6]NDIA logo

[7]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.

[8]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

 

 

 

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foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

5 Attachments

Dear Bob Buckley

Thank you for your request for information. 

Please find attached correspondence and a document 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 

Patrick (PHO293)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Complaints Management and FOI Branch

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

 

 

show quoted sections

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 'review of AAT Case Management Guide for severely autistic children'.
Your Notice of Decision document says ...
the guide was sent to the Director for Communication and Engagement who made notes (Document 1) as part of the initial review. The Director for QRST decided that as no substantial changes were required, and no changes were known or anticipated to the Agency’s policy approach to ABA, the document did not need to be amended or revised. This decision concluded the review.
The Legal Practice and Capability Branch confirmed that this guide is due to be reviewed 12 months from September 2023.
But none of this communication or information about the reassignment of responsibility is included in the documents you provided. I regard al this information as relevant to my request. Please review your decision to exclude this information.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r...

Yours faithfully,
Bob Buckley

Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to extend my request an internal review of National Disability Insurance Agency's handling of my FOI request 'review of AAT Case Management Guide for severely autistic children'.

In addition to my previous review request, I note that Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) published a commentary on the Agency's CM guide - see https://a4.org.au/index.php/node/2567 The Agency was made aware of this commentary yet the response does not show any indormation relaing to this aspect of the disposition of the CM guide.
Further, concerns about the document and its underlying policy were raised formally in sessions of the NDIA's DRCO Forum ... and responses were given by both Mr Swainson (the author of the guide) and the CEO. No records or related internal documents were given in the FoI response. Clearly, relevant in formation has been omitted from the FoI decision.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r...

Yours faithfully,
Bob Buckley

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

Dear Bob Buckley

Many thanks for your inquiry.

Due to the volume of your recent requests, can you please give a narrow date range or the exact FOI number to assist me with adding your two related FOI requests together for your Internal Review.

Kindest Regards

Tanya
Freedom of Information (FOI) Team
Complaints Management and FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
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.

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Dear foi,
FoI requests that I have asked for internal reviews of are:
* FOI 24.25 0080
* FOI 24.25 0103
* request from me dated 21/7/2024 about "NDIS actuary advice to Minister Shorten on cost due to legislation delay" - see https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/n...

Yours sincerely,
Bob Buckley

foi, National Disability Insurance Agency

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Buckley

 

I refer to your below email requesting an internal review of my decision
regarding the AAT Applied Behaviour Analysis Guide.

 

Unfortunately, as I provided a decision outside of the legislated
timeframe, your matter became a deemed decision as per 15AC of the FOI
Act. This therefore means you no longer retain right to internal review;
however, you still retain your right to seek a review from the Office of
the Australian Commissioner (OAIC).

 

The timeframe to submit a request to OAIC is 60 days from when your
decision became deemed which was 22 August 2024, this means you have until
20 October 2024 to submit for a review.

 

You have the right to submit your request to OAIC at any time during the
above period, however I ask that you give me until 4 October 2024, and I
will consult with the area that provided me with the documents to provide
an answer to your request.

 

Kind regards

 

Patrick (PHO293)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Complaints Management and FOI Branch

National Disability Insurance Agency

E [1][NDIA request email]  

[2]NDIA logo

[3]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.

[4]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

 

show quoted sections