19 November 2014
Jxeeno
Sent via email:
foi+request-799-359c3124@right oknow.org.au
Our Ref: 1415/27
Dear Jxeeno,
FOI Application – NBN Multi-Technology Deployment
I am writing in relation to your request made under the
Freedom of Information Act, 1982 (
the FOI Act). In particular, you were
seeking access to:
the detailed, technical guideline from which the summary cal ed the "NBN Multi-Technology Deployment Principles"
was based off.
For your reference, I have determined that there are potential commercial issues that may arise if this information were released
and, in particular, the potential release of prospective information regarding the NBN rol out. For that reason, I will need to
undertake an analysis of those issues and make a formal FOI determination.
Furthermore, it would appear, based on my initial enquiries that there is not one specific document that fal s within the scope of
your request, rather there may be a variety, thereby lengthening the time required to review documents and make a final
decision.
Advance Deposit Request
In accordance with subsection 29(1) of the FOI Act, I have determined that you are liable to pay a charge in respect of the
processing of this FOI request. NBN Co staf 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
3 hours @ $15.00 per hour
$45.00
Decision Making Time
15 hours @ $20.00 per hour
$300.00
Copies of documents
10 cents per page (Waived)
$ --
Sub-total
$345.00
Less first 5 hours decision making time(*)
($100.00)
TOTAL
$245.00
(*) In accordance with the
Freedom of Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations, you have not been charged for the first 5 hours of decision making time.
Please be advised that the estimate of processing time – and relevant fees – may increase or decrease, depending on the
nature of the work required. However, you wil be advised if the fees increase beyond the estimate outlined above. As the
charge exceeds $100, a deposit of 25%
($61.25) is required
. 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 ful
reasons for your contention); or
• narrow the scope of your request (which may reduce the charge payable); or
• withdraw your request.
PHONE (02) 9926 1900
FAX
(02) 9926 1901
EMAIL
xxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
WEB www.nbnco.com.au
LEVEL 11, 100 ARTHUR STREET, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060 NBN Co Limited ACN 136 533 741 © NBN Co 2013
If you fail to notify NBN Co in a manner mentioned above within 30 days of this notice, your request wil 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 Co 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 wil
not constitute a request for internal review. You wil be advised of your review rights under sections 53A and 54 of the FOI
Act fol owing consideration of your contentions.
Once NBN Co has completed the processing of your request, the assessment of the charge payable wil 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 Co may not impose an actual charge that is higher than the estimated charge. This means that, if
you are refused access to any document, the actual charge that wil be payable wil be lower than or equal to, but not more
than, the final estimate of charges. It is only if you are granted access to al 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 make arrangements to pay
NBN Co, using the following electronic banking details:
Bank name: CBA
Name:
NBN Co Limited FOI
BSB:
062-438
Account no: 10240782
Reference: FOI-AYCA-1QGQS2
When making a payment, please ensure you include the reference (FOI-AYCA-1QGQS2) 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 wil be made at that time. As a result, the balance of the
actual charge wil become a debt due to the Commonwealth, which NBN Co would be obliged to pursue, unless other
arrangements are made – or if NBN Co agrees to waive the fees.
As 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 be advised that the charge notice day is not counted in calculating the processing time limit. For your
reference,
6 of 30 days have passed
and the processing time limit wil resume:
• On the day upon which NBN Co receives your deposit.
• Alternatively, if you decide to contest the charge, the processing time limit wil resume on the day upon which NBN Co
notifies you of its decision not to impose a charge – if NBN Co so makes a decision.
• In the event that NBN Co decides to reduce the charge and deposit is required, the processing time limit wil
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 Of ice of the Australian Information
Commissioner’s website:
www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-information/foi-resources/freedom-of-information-fact-sheets and in part
4 of the Australian Information Commissioner’s FOI guidelines:
www.oaic.gov.au/publications/guidelines.html#foi_guidelines.
PHONE (02) 9926 1900
FAX
(02) 9926 1901
PAGE
2
EMAIL
xxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
WEB www.nbnco.com.au
LEVEL 11, 100 ARTHUR STREET, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060 NBN Co Limited ACN 136 533 741 © NBN Co 2013
NBN Co’s Commercial Activities Exemption
In addition, I refer you to NBN Co’s commercial activities exemption (
the CAE), as per
section 7(3A) and
Part I of Schedule 2
of the FOI Act. As you may be aware, documents that are in relation to NBN Co’s “commercial activities” are not subject to the
operation of the FOI Act. For your reference, the Of ice of the Australian Information Commissioner (
the OAIC) completed a
review decision in January 2012 (
the Internode Decision), which provides background and guidance as to the application of
the CAE to NBN Co. The Internode Decision may be found by clicking on the following
link. The OAIC completed an additional
review at the end of July 2013
– the Bat ersby Decision, which further clarified the scope of NBN Co’s CAE or commercial
activities exemption. While I am not making a formal decision, nor have I commenced a formal search for any relevant
documents, there is a possibility that documents fal ing within the terms of this FOI request may be subject to the CAE, among
other exemptions from release.
Disclosure Log Notification
In accordance with the FOI Act, NBN Co is required to publish documents provided to FOI applicants within 10 working days
after release. The information you seek may be published in ful (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 Co’s website.
If you have any questions or need to discuss your FOI application, please feel free to contact the writer on Tel. 8918 5670 or via
email o
n yvet xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Yvette Deerness
Acting GM Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
PHONE (02) 9926 1900
FAX
(02) 9926 1901
PAGE
3
EMAIL
xxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
WEB www.nbnco.com.au
LEVEL 11, 100 ARTHUR STREET, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060 NBN Co Limited ACN 136 533 741 © NBN Co 2013
Document Outline
