29 May 2025
Alice S
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
ACMA file reference
ACMA2025/660
Dear Alice S
Request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
I refer to your
Freedom of Information Act (FOI Act) request of 20 May 2025 in which you sought access to
“any documents relating to the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol. This may include analyses,
research, correspondence, consultancy, or any document referencing Rich Communication Services
protocol or implementation.”
Charges
The processing charges which the ACMA is entitled to charge are prescribed in the
Freedom of Information
(Charges) Regulations 2019.
These charges include:
• searching and retrieving ($15.00 per hour)
• making a decision on access ($20.00 per hour after the first five hours, which are for free)
• photocopying a written document (10 cents per page)
• making a copy of a written document other than a photocopy ($4.40 per page)
• postage or delivery (an amount not exceeding cost of postage or delivery)
• transcribing ($4.40 per page)
• supervising, if the applicant wishes to inspect ($6.25 per half an hour, or part thereof).
The ACMA will, in accordance with section 29 of the FOI Act, advise you if you are liable to pay any charge
and provide a preliminary assessment of those charges.
Time for processing
The statutory timeframe for responding to your request under the FOI Act is generally 30 days from the day
on which the ACMA received the valid application.
In accordance with subsection 15(5) of the FOI Act, we will notify you of a decision regarding your request
as soon as practicable, but in any event by 19 June 2025, unless the timeframe is extended under the FOI
Act.
Clarification of scope of request
An initial consideration of your request indicates there may be a large number of documents which fall
within the scope of your request. In this regard I note that the current framing of the request would
capture any document that mentions “RCS” or “Rich Communication Protocol”, even in passing. It may be
that some or many of the documents are of limited interest to you.
PO Box 78, Belconnen ACT 2616
xxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx | acma.gov.au
Although it is entirely a matter for you, you may wish to consider refining the scope of your request,
including by limiting the date range for relevant documents. Other FOI applicants have sometimes found it
helpful to include a date range and exclude one or more of the following categories of documents from
their request:
• drafts of final documents (including internal working drafts of letters, memos, briefs and reports)
• documents which are publicly available;
• parts of documents which contain the personal information of third parties.
The ACMA has sought information from the telecommunications sector about the planned implementation
of RCS over telecommunications networks and the impact RCS may have on current and future anti-scam
measures for the telco sector. We have not engaged any consultants in respect to this work. We have
engaged in this work largely in the last 6 to 8 months as part of the ACMA’s much broader telco scam
prevention work.
I trust this context setting may assist you to refine the scope of your request to target the documents of
most interest to you. Refining your request will also assist the ACMA to process your request more
efficiently and reduce the charges which may be imposed for the processing of your request.
Please advise by
5 June 2025 whether the exclusion of any or all of the documents above is suitable to you
and whether you wish to narrow the scope of your request further, including by:
• agreeing to a date range (e.g. documents created since 1 July 2024, or documents created since
1 December 2024); and/or
• limiting your request to particular categories of documents rather any document which merely
mentions the RCS Protocol – e.g. correspondence between the ACMA and other entities on the
issue of RCS.
Further information
Further information about the FOI Act, including the ACMA’s publication obligations, is available on the
ACMA’s website at
www.acma.gov.au/freedom-information.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Bernadette Kelly
Manager, Combating Scams Team
xxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
(02) 6219 5116
PO Box 78, Belconnen ACT 2616
xxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx | acma.gov.au
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