Seeking number or aerial FDAs after 2016

Timothy Nothdurft made this Freedom of Information request to NBN Co Limited

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by NBN Co Limited.

Timothy Nothdurft

Dear NBN Co Limited,

I am seeking documents/information on how many brownfield FSAs (Fibre Distribution Areas) used aerial fibre deployment methods or were installed on aerial assets (eg power utilities) after 2016

I simple executive summary on the number should be easily obtainable within the standard 5 hours.

Yours faithfully,

Timothy Nothdurft

5 Attachments

Our reference: EN19/19599

 

 

Dear Mr Nothdurft

 

I refer to the below email from Mr David Mesman at NBN that we were copied
in to.

 

Please advise if there is any assistance you require from the OAIC in
relation to your FOI request with NBN (reference: FOI1920/48).

 

In Freedom of Information matters, the OAIC has two main functions:

·         We can review FOI decisions made by an Australian government
agency or Minister (IC review)

·         We can also investigate complains about how an agency has
handled and FOI request (FOI complaints)

I will provide further information about these two functions below.

IC review

If you disagree with an agency’s or minister’s decision You can ask for a
review of the decision. After reviewing a decision, the Information
Commissioner must do one of three things:

·         set the decision aside and make a fresh decision

·         affirm the decision, or

·         vary the decision.

An agency or minister can also be ordered to undertake further searches
for documents. 

FOI complaints

Complaints usually focus on how an agency has handled your FOI request or
complied with other obligations under the FOI Act, rather than the
decision itself.

In some cases, the Information Commissioner's investigation of a complaint
may lead to the agency addressing the issues that you have complained
about. In other cases, the Information Commissioner may make suggestions
or recommendations that the agency should implement. The Information
Commissioner can only make non-binding recommendations as a result of a
complaint. You and the agency will be notified of the outcome of the
investigation.

Next steps

Can you please advise by 3 January 2020, if there is any assistance you
are seeking in this instance.

Should you wish to discuss your matter please do not hesitate to contact
me on 02 9284 9711 or [1][email address].

Kind regards

Stephanie Mayhew

 

[2]cid:image001.jpg@01D446AF.83C3DEE0   Intake and Early Resolution Team

Freedom of Information

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |  [3]oaic.gov.au

1300 363 992  |  [4][email address]
[9]Subscribe
[5]cid:image002.png@01D446AF.83C3DEE0 | [6]cid:image003.png@01D446AF.83C3DEE0 | [7]cid:image004.png@01D446AF.83C3DEE0 |   [8]cid:image005.png@01D446AF.83C3DEE0 to OAICnet
newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Timothy Nothdurft

Dear FOIDR,

Why has the core of the correspondence been hidden and removed from RTK? Unfortunately I don't have any visibility into Mr Mesman correspondence and confused as to why this has gone to OAIC for such a simple request? If possible I would like this forwarded to me or put back on public record.

Once again this demonstrates the lack of professionalism and understanding of the FOI processes by NBN Australia and its staff.

I will attempt to make contact using the reference number due to your email being removed.

Previous OAIC Ref EN19/04504 EN19/04202 on NBN decisions and conduct.

Yours sincerely,

Timothy Nothdurft

Thank you for your email.

This is an automated response to confirm that your email was received by
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) Freedom
of Information Dispute Resolution (FOIDR) mailbox. Please note this
mailbox is monitored between 9 am to 5 pm on Monday to Friday, excluding
public holidays and shutdown periods.

New Information Commissioner review applications and FOI complaints

If you are seeking to lodge an application for review of an FOI decision
or a complaint about an agency’s processing of an FOI request, the OAIC
will write to you shortly.

Information regarding the IC review process can be found at:
[1]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
and in [2]Part 10 of the [3]FOI Guidelines.

Information regarding the FOI complaints process can be found at:
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
and in [5]Part 11 of the [6]FOI Guidelines.

Submissions for existing Information Commissioner review applications and FOI
complaints

If you have provided submissions for a matter currently with the OAIC,
your correspondence will be attached to the relevant file. The review
adviser responsible for the matter will contact you should further
information regarding the submissions be required.

Extensions of time for processing FOI requests

Where an agency in unable to make a decision on an FOI request within the
timeframes for processing FOI requests, the agency can seek an extension
to time to process the FOI request, either from the FOI applicant or from
the OAIC.

Information for FOI applicant regarding extensions of time under the FOI
Act can be found at:
[7]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....

Information for agencies regarding the extension of time provisions in the
FOI Act and how to apply to the OAIC for an extension of time can be found
at:
[8]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...

Requests for documents of other agencies

Please note that the OAIC does not hold records of other government
agencies. If you wish to request access to documents of another agency,
you will need to make a request to that agency under the FOI Act.
Information about [9]how to make an FOI request is available on the OAIC
website.

Kind regards

 

Intake and Early Resolution Team

Freedom of Information Dispute Resolution

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001  |  [10]oaic.gov.au

1300 363 992   |  [11][email address]

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
2. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
5. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
6. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
7. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
8. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
9. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
10. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
11. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr Northurft

Thank you for your email.

It appears that you do not wish the OAIC to take any further action at this point and that your concerns are being dealt with by the agency.

If your circumstances change and you wish to approach the OAIC for assistance please quote the reference number EN19/19599.

Kind regards

Stephanie

Intake and Early Resolution Team
Freedom of Information
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 | oaic.gov.au
1300 363 992 | [email address]

show quoted sections

Ben Fairless left an annotation ()

The only people who can hide or annotate requests are people who either volunteer for or are employed by the charity that looks after Right to Know.

We were contacted by the NBNCo who advised that they had accidentally sent an email about another request to this email address. As they had already re-sent the emails in question, I updated the emails here to hidden.

The emails in question can be found here: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/c...

I've updated the reasons for the request being hidden. I apologise for any confusion, I was making the changes on the go.

If you have any questions about moderation decisions on Right to Know, you can contact us at contact@righttoknow.org.au.

David Mesman, NBN Co Limited

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Nothdurft – Please find attached a letter in relation to your FOI
request.
 
David J Mesman
General Counsel │FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
Corporate Advisory and Systems Engineering & Operations Legal Team
| E [1][email address]
Level 13/100 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
nbn acknowledges and pays respects to the traditional custodians of all
the lands upon which we work.
Notice to recipient: This e-mail is intended only to be read or used by
the addressee. It is confidential and may contain information that is
subject to legal professional privilege or protected by copyright. If you
are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for
delivery of the message to that person), you may not copy or deliver this
message to anyone, and you should destroy this message and kindly notify
the sender by reply e-mail. Copyright, confidentiality and legal
professional privilege are not waived or lost by reason of mistaken
delivery to you. Emails to/from nbn co limited ABN 86 136 533 741 may
undergo email filtering and virus scanning, including by third party
contractors, however, nbn co limited does not guarantee that any email or
any attachment is secure, error-free or free of viruses or other unwanted
or unexpected inclusions. Any views expressed in this message are those of
the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to
be the views of nbn co limited.
PLEASE CONSIDER OUR ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING
 
 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

David Mesman, NBN Co Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Nothdurft - I'm resending this email, noting that it has not appeared on the RTK website.

Best, David Mesman

show quoted sections

Timothy Nothdurft

Dear David Mesman,

For the purpose of simplification and to keep scope under the 5 hours -

Please report the number of brownfield FDA (Fibre distribution areas) that were RFS AFTER 2016 that have used 1 or more aerial multiport or aerial lead-ins. (or what are commonly known as NAPs or Network Access Points)

Your response implies aerial fibre assets have been installed after 2016 and you are seeking further clarification?

Yours sincerely,

Timothy Nothdurft

David Mesman, NBN Co Limited

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Nothdfurt – I’ve attached an advance deposit request (PDF letter),
which also outlines the points, below, among other matters.
 
Following the clarification of your FOI request, I had discussions with
nbn subject matter experts (SMEs) and was informed of the following:
 

* The term FDA or "Fibre Distribution Area" relates to nbn’s (previous)
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network rollout coding nomenclature and
its related technology. For reference, nbn no longer uses this term
(FDA) in the current multi-technology mix (MTM) network rollout.
* nbn’s SMEs informed me that that they assume that your request is
referring to Access Distribution Areas (ADAs), which are roughly
equivalent to FDAs within the MTM network build.
* Your request also refers to NAPs, which is a term used by nbn to
describe an aerial piece of network equipment that nbn deploys only
with FTTP and FTTC connections.
* As you may be aware, there are a variety of different technologies
deployed with the MTM rollout, including FTTP, Fibre-to-the-node
(FTTN), Fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC), Fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB), Fixed
wireless (FW) and satellite.
* In addition, it is important to note that:

* nbn connections via FTTB, Fixed wireless and satellite technology
would not generally involve an aerial fibre deployment.
* With the remaining technologies, i.e. FTTN and HFC connections, nbn
would generally acquire existing networks, which may include existing
aerial connections. These connections would not be referred to as NAPs
(since “NAP” is fibre-specific term), but rather specific equipment
related to copper and coaxial delivery mechanisms.

* Assuming that you are only seeking data on the number of NAPs, any
data set produced would only include data concerning FTTP and FTTC
ready-for-service (RFS) connections since 1 January 2017.
* Based upon those parameters, nbn’s SMEs informed me that it would take
16.25 hours to obtain the relevant data. For reference, nbn’s SMEs
would be required to undertake the following steps in relation to this
request:

* Identify the appropriate systems and tools to perform the data
extract;
* Build the relevant query tools, by identifying specific network
elements within data sets and models that match the relevant
parameters,
* Identify and filter for relevant NAPs and relevant network
architecture within the data sets and models;
* Filter for premises that were RFS since 1 January 2017;
* Combine the data sources and run extracts, then validate and check
results for accuracy; and
* Package the data outputs and prepare a draft extract summary for
review by nbn’s FOI Team and other relevant nbn staff.

 
Based on those points and parameters (i.e. NAPs with FTTC and FTTP
connections), I have prepared an advance deposit request. As the
decision-making time is likely to be below five hours, that charge would
be waived and the only applicable FOI processing fees would be for search
and retrieval. The estimated processing fees are $243.75 (for search &
retrieval), with an advance deposit of $60.93.
 
David J Mesman
General Counsel │FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
Corporate Advisory and Systems Engineering & Operations Legal Team
E [1][email address]
Level 13/100 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
nbn acknowledges and pays respects to the traditional custodians of all
the lands upon which we work.
Notice to recipient: This e-mail is intended only to be read or used by
the addressee. It is confidential and may contain information that is
subject to legal professional privilege or protected by copyright. If you
are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for
delivery of the message to that person), you may not copy or deliver this
message to anyone, and you should destroy this message and kindly notify
the sender by reply e-mail. Copyright, confidentiality and legal
professional privilege are not waived or lost by reason of mistaken
delivery to you. Emails to/from nbn co limited ABN 86 136 533 741 may
undergo email filtering and virus scanning, including by third party
contractors, however, nbn co limited does not guarantee that any email or
any attachment is secure, error-free or free of viruses or other unwanted
or unexpected inclusions. Any views expressed in this message are those of
the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to
be the views of nbn co limited.
PLEASE CONSIDER OUR ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING
 
 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Timothy Nothdurft

Dear David Mesman,

Thankyou for your response and breakdown of tasks.

The information I have requested does not need to be as detailed as has been indicted. Therefore happy to work to reduce scope to under 5 hour by re clarification of the request.

Working in the public interest I need some confidence that if the deposit is made every effort will be made to release information and the work tasks indicated are a fair representation.
If you believe there will be a strong case for refusal (as usually indicated by highlighting those passages) then this should be indicated prior to any financial fee.

Yours sincerely,

Timothy Nothdurft

David Mesman, NBN Co Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Nothdurft - Thank you for your note. I apologise for not reverting earlier - I was away from work, unwell.

In your email, below, you've indicated that the information requested "does not need to be as detailed..." and that you are "happy to reduce the scope." I am unclear what is meant by these points, noting that you have not changed the terms of the request, nor reduced its scope. If you could please provide details in that regard. I am happy to discuss the same at your convenience.

As outlined previously, nbn's subject matter experts (SMEs) informed me that it is not nbn's business practice to produce the datasets requested and I've summarised nbn's obligations regarding the creation of new datasets per section 17 of the FOI Act. The time required to produce the requested dataset is 16.25 hours (search & retrieval time) and would require nbn SMEs to take time away from their core functions in order to process this FOI request in its current form. Please note that the dataset would only encompass FTTP and FTTC ready-for-service (RFS) connections since 1 January 2017.

You also mentioned reducing the scope of this FOI application to "under 5 hours." In that regard, I wanted to flag that the first five hours of "decision-making time" are not chargeable and there is no automatic waiver for any FOI processing fees, except for decision-making time. This is noted in the advance deposit request under the FOI processing charges table, which reads as follows "Per the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations, nbn has not charged you for the first 5 hours of decision-making time. Please note that this waiver of fees only applies to decision-making time, but not to other FOI processing charges, such as search & retrieval."

If you would like to make a submission seeking a fee waiver, please refer to the details in the attached letter. In making a submission, I would ask that you please refer to the following hyperlink https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-infor... (Submission to the OAIC Charges Review). This Submission outlines nbn’s general approach to FOI processing charges. It is also nbn’s general policy to charge applicants for FOI processing time, subject to general public interest contentions or hardship grounds. For reference, nbn is required to operate as a commercial entity and to ensure that its staff members are engaged in appropriate tasks that maximise corporate resources and add to shareholder value. It follows that nbn should be able to recover some of the reasonable costs associated with the processing of FOI requests and, particularly, for SMEs' time taken away from core nbn™ network operations.

Please also note that I cannot provide an indication or advise you regarding the likelihood of disclosure because this would effectively pre-judge the outcome of an FOI determination. It is important to note that FOI processing fees are levied for specific tasks completed, rather than for a given outcome. You may, of course, refer to previous nbn FOI decisions published on the Right-to-Know website and make an assessment regarding the likelihood of release. I would also refer you to nbn's commercial activities carve-out (CAC) background document, https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbn... at paragraphs 7 to 12. In particular, paragraph 9 refers to "Common examples of commercial activities." Please also note that the CAC is a "carve-out" from the FOI Act, and not a specific type or subset of exemptions within the FOI Act. In particular, the FOI Act does not apply to documents that relate to nbn's commercial activities. In considering any documents for release under the FOI Act, nbn's FOI Officer must first make a primary assessment regarding the commercial nature of documents requested. If nbn’s FOI Officer determines that documents relate to nbn’s commercial activities, these documents are outside of the scope of the FOI Act and there is no requirement to consider actual exemptions, e.g. commercially valuable information (s. 47) or confidential materials (s. 45), personal privacy (s.47F), business affairs (s.47G), etc.

I trust that this information is of assistance.

Best regards, David Mesman

show quoted sections