Introduction
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the NDIS Commission) is an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and is required to comply with the Information Publication Scheme (IPS) requirements. This plan describes how the NDIS Commission proposes to do this, as required by subsection 8(1) of the FOI Act.
Purpose
The purpose of this agency plan is to:
- ensure that the NDIS Commission complies with subsection 8(1) of the FOI Act;
- assist the NDIS Commission in planning and developing its IPS entries; and
- show what information the NDIS Commission proposes to publish (IPS holdings) and how it will be published.
Objectives
The NDIS Commission’s IPS objectives are to:
- ensure proper management of the NDIS Commission’s IPS entries;
- identify and publish all information required to be published under subsection 8(2) of the FOI Act;
- ensure satisfactory conformance by the NDIS Commission with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0); and
- adopt best practice initiatives in implementing, administering and reviewing the NDIS Commission’s IPS holdings and contribution to the IPS.
Establishing and administering the NDIS Commission’s Information Publication Scheme
The NDIS Commission commenced operations on 1 July 2018 in NSW and SA, on 1 July 2019 in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory and on 1 December 2020 in Western Australia.
The NDIS Commission’s Executive Leadership Team is responsible for ensuring:
- that information that the FOI Act requires to be published is published on the NDIS Commission’s website
- the accuracy, currency and integrity of published information relevant to their responsibilities; and
- that appropriate resources are dedicated to complying with the NDIS Commission’s IPS obligations.
The Commission’s General Counsel is responsible for supporting the Executive Leadership Team to be aware of the NDIS Commission’s IPS responsibilities and for advising about the publication of information as part of the IPS.
Publication
Where practicable, IPS information will be made available for downloading directly from the NDIS Commission’s website. Alternatively, IPS holdings will be made available for downloading from linked websites or through direct requests via a nominated contact officer.
Charges
The NDIS Commission may charge a person for accessing an IPS document which is impracticable to publish online. Any charges imposed will be consistent with charges in the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 2019 and will represent an amount that does not exceed the actual costs incurred by the NDIS Commission for specific reproduction or other specific incidental costs.
Information Publication Scheme entries architecture
The NDIS Commission publishes IPS information on its website so it is available to the public.
The NDIS Commission’s website has an Information Publication Scheme section which will contain this Plan and links to information about the Commission and its role.
The NDIS Commission’s website has a search function at the top right hand corner so members of the public can search for IPS information.
The IPS section of the website will be highlighted by the use of the IPS Icon recommended by the Information Commissioner to assist the public to quickly locate the IPS information of an agency.
It is important that IPS information is accessible to all members of the public. The NDIS Commission will ensure that its website is, as far as possible, accessible to all users and conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Version 2) (WCAG 2.0). The website has a number of accessibility features and information on these is available on the Accessibility page.
Information required to be published
The NDIS Commission will publish information about the following subjects on the Information Publication Scheme section of its website:
About the scheme
This provides a background summary of the IPS.
IPS Agency Plan
This provides a copy of this Plan, complying with paragraph 8(2)(a) of the FOI Act.
About the Commission
The Who we are page provides links to information about the NDIS Commission’s structure and the statutory appointment of the NDIS Commissioner, complying with paragraphs 8(2)(b) and (d) of the FOI Act.
It also provides additional links to the NDIS Commission’s governance information and job vacancies and links to documents and web pages containing information about the NDIS Commission’s responsibilities including legislation, rules and guidelines,.
Corporate documents
The Corporate reports page provides links to the web pages containing information about the NDIS Commission’s Contract Listing and Annual Reports, the NDIS Commission’s Corporate Plan and guidance documents issued by the NDIS Commission
Disclosure Log
The FOI Disclosure Log page provides a link to the NDIS Commission’s Disclosure Log complying with paragraph 8(2)(g) of the FOI Act.
How the NDIS Commission otherwise complies with the IPS requirements
The NDIS Commission further complies with IPS requirements through:
- having regard to relevant guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the FOI Act; and
- co-operating with Information Commissioner reviews of the IPS.