Documentation describing processes to identify, generate and dispatch notices for payment (of all kinds)
Dear NSW Office of State Revenue,
I request any document or documents held by NSW Revenue describing the process or processes used to:
- initially identify relevant charges or debts that NSW Revenue would send communications about
- the process of generating and storing digital versions of the communications
- the process of printing, folding, enveloping and posting communications
- the process of retrieving (on demand) communications that have been previously generated
- process of recording the generating, printing and posting of communications
The relevant documents may include onboarding documentation, standard operating procedures, descriptions of business rules or other system process documentation.
Yours faithfully,
John Smith
Dear John
Thank you for your request to access information held by Revenue NSW, part
of the Department of Customer Service, which we received on 12 July 2023.
Before I proceed with you request, firstly could you please confirm that
you are seeking this information informally? Or have you submitted a
formal application with the required $30 fee?
Also, I would appreciate some clarity of your request so we can identify
the records you are seeking. Please see my questions below.
I request any document or documents held by NSW Revenue describing the
process or processes used to:
- initially identify relevant charges or debts that NSW Revenue would send
communications about
Questions:
1. By ‘relevant charges or debts’, what charges or debts are you
referring to i.e. what is ‘relevant’? Revenue NSW’s website provides
details of the taxes, fines, debts and grants administered by this
agency: [1]https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/about
2. What ‘communications’ are you referring to? RNSW would send numerous
communications via different channels about different topics and to
different audiences, please can you be more specific.
- the process of generating and storing digital versions of the
communications
3. I’m not sure what this means, please can you clarify? For example are
you referring to the software or platform used to send communications
– such as Microsoft Outlook?
- the process of printing, folding, enveloping and posting communications
4. This appears to relate to communications that are sent by post, can
you confirm?
- the process of retrieving (on demand) communications that have been
previously generated
5. It isn’t clear what you are referring to you. What is a ‘on demand’
communication and what do you mean by ‘previously generated’?
- process of recording the generating, printing and posting of
communications
6. Again I presume this is limited to communications sent by post? Do you
mean, for example, a written procedure followed by staff who print &
post communications? How is this different to question 4?
The relevant documents may include onboarding documentation, standard
operating procedures, descriptions of business rules or other system
process documentation.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Hannah Stephenson
A/Manager | Government and Executive Support Services
Department of Customer Service
T (02) 9219 3700 E [2][email address]
References
Visible links
1. https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/about
2. mailto:[email address]
Dear Hannah
Thanks for the speedy request for clarification. I have provided clarifying responses below:
0. This is an informal request.
1. Any charges or debts NSW Revenue would send notices to citizens regarding. A general description of how you are informed about the need to send these notices would be OK.
2. Initial and follow-up notices sent to citizens, regarding charges or debts. For example, invoices (if/when issued by NSW Revenue), debt notices, debt recovery orders and debt recovery action notices.
3. Which software you use to generate these notices and the procedure used to generate them. This might be something like “Use Microsoft Word to mail merge export.xls” (though obviously in a bit more detail).
4. Yes. How do notices make it from the computer to the post.
5. This question relates to a retrieval of a previously-generated document, for example if a NSW Representative wants to view what was sent to the citizen ten weeks ago, or to send the citizen a copy of what was sent by mail. For example, are the letters stored as PDF. Are they regenerated when needed?
6. This relates to documenting whether any mail was produced, printed and sent, how many pieces of mail were sent and which particular pieces of mail were sent. This might be included in any procedure at 4, but I am interested in it specifically so have asked for it specifically.
I trust that these processes are documented and so the retrieval of standard operating procedures should be straightforward.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
Thanks John. I will seek further advice from Revenue NSW and provide a further update on your request by the end of next week.
Regards
Hannah Stephenson
A/Manager | Government and Executive Support Services
Department of Customer Service
T (02) 9219 3700 E [email address]
Hi John
Further to the below, Revenue NSW have requested further clarification of your informal request.
'charges or debts' is not terminology that Revenue NSW uses. Do you mean fees i.e. https://www.nsw.gov.au/money-and-taxes/f...
Thanks
Hannah Stephenson
A/Manager | Government and Executive Support Services
Department of Customer Service
T (02) 9219 3700 E [email address]
Dear Hannah,
Yes. If you use the terminology “fees” please constrain it to fees.
I presume, since your posted letters also refer to “debts” that these are a type of fee - presumably an unpaid fee. This would include fees/debts that increase in size based on a whether they are paid or not.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
Hi John
I've received some further information from Revenue NSW. In order to progress your request, we need you to clarify what information you require.
There is no one single approach/procedure for the collection of fees and debt. Different procedures may apply depending on the partner that Revenue NSW is collecting on behalf of. A list of the business partners Revenue NSW works with can be found at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/money-and-taxes/f...
Communications Revenue NSW sends to its customers may also vary on a case by case basis. There is no single documented procedure for state debt, other than the document which our agency has provided to you previously (reference GIPA-00200-2023).
Please can you be more specific in your request e.g.:
- Which business partner(s) are you interested in?
- What type of debt are you interested in?
- What record, other than what was previously provided to you, do you wish to access?
If you can provide some context as to why you require this information, that may also assist us to identify the information sought.
Thanks
Hannah Stephenson
A/Manager | Government and Executive Support Services
Department of Customer Service
T (02) 9219 3700 E [email address]
Dear GIPA-DCS,
I’m interested specifically in procedures around sending mail. I am trying to determine how a critical letter failed to arrive at my letterbox, which resulted in a substantial additional charge that NSW Revenue refused to waive. I have asked for information specific to my debt, as well waiver and been denied by NSW Revenue.
I am now looking for the general information so I can better understand the internal process of NSW Revenue in producing its various notices. This will allow me to then understand whether the NSW Revenue internal process for producing notices is fool-proof and automated - and therefore all failure to receive letters likely to be Australia Post’s fault. In the alternative, the lack of procedures and highly manual processes would suggest many possible points of failure that I could then ask specific questions about.
I doubt an organisation as honest, professional and streamlined as NSW Revenue lacks written procedures for how it produces its letters informing citizens of non-contestable charges, and checks they were sent and delivered.
If it helps to further narrow down the request, feel free to limit the scope to the production of a Debt Notice for an unpaid Ambulance NSW invoice. I’m just looking for existing internal procedure documentation of the kind a staff member may use when doing a batch run of notices and handling the mail.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
Dear John
I have discussed this further with Revenue NSW and confirm that the agency does not have documented procedures specifically for how notices are posted to customers.
For the example you give below, I can advise generally that Revenue NSW issue notices to the address provided by NSW Ambulance. Revenue NSW has an arrangement with Computershare, who print all their system generated correspondence and notices on Revenue NSW's behalf. They are then sent for delivery through Australia Post. Revenue NSW would refer a customer to Australia Post where there is an issue with the mail delivery. Where a customer provides confirmation of an incorrect address, the general process is that Revenue NSW will waive the additional costs applied to the NSW Ambulance Fee.
If you wish to obtain further information about your specific debt, then you can make an informal request via our team to access the information on your file. You can do this by emailing [OSR request email], and confirming your full name, address and Revenue NSW reference(s). We can then identify what information is held by Revenue NSW, and will contact you to complete a proof of identity check prior to disclosing any information to you.
I hope this information is of assistance.
Regards
Hannah Stephenson
Senior Advisor | Government and Executive Support Services
Department of Customer Service
T (02) 9219 3700 E [email address]