23 November 2018
Mario (through RightToKnow)
Email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Ref: 1819/34.08
Dear Mario
FOI Application
I am writing in relation to your request, made under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (
the FOI Act).
Acknowledgment
As required by section 15(5) of the FOI Act, I acknowledge receipt of your request and note you are seeking
access to:
'the 'ready-for-service' dates and the 'planned delivery technology' for Walker St Turella in the years
2013-2017.'
Decision-Making Period & Consultation The processing period for this FOI request commences on 10 November 2018, being the day after confirmation
of your specific FOI application. The statutory period for processing an FOI request is generally 30 days.
Advance Deposit Request
In accordance with subsection 29(1) of the FOI Act, I have determined that a charge is payable, in respect of
the processing of this FOI request.
nbn staff have undertaken a search for the requested documents, and the search and retrieval time is
detailed below.
nbn staff completed a preliminary assessment of the work involved in processing your FOI request and our
company estimates the applicable charges as follows:
Search and Retrieval Time
8 hours @ $15.00 per hour
$120
Decision Making Time
13 hours @ $20.00 per hour
$260
Sub-total
$380
Less first 5 hours decision making time(*)
($100.00)
TOTAL
$280
(*) In accordance with the
Freedom of Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations,
nbn has not charged you for the first 5
hours of decision-making time.
nbn-Confidential: Commercial
Please note that the estimated processing time and relevant fees may increase (or decrease), depending on
the nature of the work required. However, I will inform you if the fees increase beyond the estimate outlined
above. As the total estimated processing charges exceeds $100, a deposit of 25% ($70) is required.
Next steps
Within 30 days of this notice, you are required to:
agree to pay the charge and forward the deposit; or
contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed, or should be reduced or not imposed (you should
provide full reasons for your contention); or
narrow the scope of your request (which may reduce the charge payable); or
withdraw your request.
If you fail to notify
nbn in a manner mentioned above, within 30 days of this notice, your request will be taken
to have been withdrawn. In addition, if you contend that the estimated charge has been wrongly assessed, or
should be reduced or not imposed, you must notify
nbn of your contention, providing reasons, and evidence
where relevant, to support your submission. In deciding whether to reduce or not to impose a charge, the FOI
decision-maker will consider all relevant factors, including:
whether payment of the charge, or a part of it, would cause you financial hardship; and
whether the giving of access is in the general public interest.
If you choose to contend that the charge has been wrongly assessed or should be reduced or not imposed,
this will not constitute a request for internal review. You will be advised of your review rights under sections
53A and 54 of the FOI Act following consideration of your contentions.
Once
nbn has completed the processing of your request, the assessment of the charge payable will be revised
based on the actual amount of work involved in processing your request. If you are refused access to any of
the documents that are relevant to your request,
nbn may not impose an actual charge that is higher than the
final estimated charge. This means that, if you are refused access to any document, the actual charge that will
be payable will be lower than or equal to, but not more than, the final estimate of charges. It is only if you are
granted access to all the documents that are relevant to your request that the actual charge imposed may be
higher than the estimated charge.
It is important to note that the payment of FOI processing fees does not
guarantee access to documents or information. If you agree to pay the estimated charge set out above, or the deposit for that charge, you should arrange to
pay
nbn, using the following electronic banking details:
Bank name:
CBA
Name:
nbn co limited FOI
BSB:
062-438
Account no: 10240782
Reference:
FOI-AYCA-5MEJ03
When making a payment, please ensure you include the reference noted above. Please note that if you provide a deposit and the processing of your request progresses to a point where a
decision on access is made, a determination about the imposition of the actual charge will be made at that
nbn-Confidential: Commercial
time. The balance of the actual charge will become a debt due to the Commonwealth, which
nbn would be
obliged to pursue, unless other arrangements are made – or if
nbn agrees to waive the fees.
As set out above, per section 31 of the FOI Act, the time limit for processing your request is suspended from
the day you receive this notice, being today’s date. Please also be advised that the charge notice day is not
counted in calculating the processing time limit. For your reference, 13 days
have passed
and the processing
time limit will resume:
on the day upon which
nbn receives your deposit;
alternatively, if you decide to contest the charge, the processing time limit will resume on the day upon
which
nbn notifies you of its decision not to impose a charge – if
nbn so makes a decision; or
in the event that
nbn decides to reduce the charge and deposit is required, the processing time limit
will recommence on the day upon which you pay the reduced deposit.
More information about charges under the FOI Act is available in
Fact Sheet 7 on the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner’s (
OAIC) website and in part 4 of the OAI
C FOI Guidelines. nbn’s Commercial Activities Exemption
I also refer you to
nbn’s commercial activities carve-out (
CAC) from the application of the FOI Act, and
sectio
n 7(3A) and
Part II of Schedule 2 of the FOI Act. Please be aware that documents that are in relation to
nbn’s “commercial activities” are not subject to the operation of the FOI Act and would be exempt from
release. The following link summarises and provid
es general background information concerning
nbn’s CAC.
That background document references two reviews by the Australian Information Commissioner that
considered
nbn’s CAC:
the Internode Decision (in January 2012) and th
e Battersby Decision (in July 2013).
While I am not making a formal decision and have not reviewed any documents, I note that there is a
possibility that documents falling within the terms of your request may be subject to the CAC, among other
exemptions from release.
Disclosure Log Notification
In accordance with the FOI Act,
nbn is required to publish documents provided to FOI applicants within 10
working days after release. The information you seek may be published in full (as released to you) or with some
additional exceptions as per section 11C of the FOI Act. For further information, visit our
Disclosure Log on
nbn’s website.
Please feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss your
request.
Yours sincerely
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel
FOI Privacy & Knowledge Management
