In re: Reason codes
FOI Requests
nbn
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Dear FOI Person,
In re: Reason codes
---------------------
I request a list of the standard reason codes and their associated descriptions for Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held notifications, and a list of the standard resolution codes and their associated descriptions for Trouble Ticket Resolved notifications. If it is possible to provide the requested document under administrative arrangements, please do so. Otherwise, please treat this as a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act, 1982.
Yours faithfully,
Mark R. Diamond
Dear Mark
Thank you for your email attached, seeking access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), specifically:
… a list of the standard reason codes and their associated descriptions
for Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held notifications,
and a list of the standard resolution codes and their associated
descriptions for Trouble Ticket Resolved notifications.
Request to clarify and request consultation
Please note that under the FOI Act, members of the public have a general
right of access to specific documents, subject to certain exemptions.
Under section 15(2) of the FOI Act, a valid FOI request must provide such
information concerning the requested document as is reasonably necessary
to enable nbn to identify it.
In light of the time likely to be required to process this request in its
current form, I am of the opinion that it would be an unreasonable
diversion of nbn’s resources, per sections 24 and 24AA of the FOI Act.
This is because there are scores of data that may fit within the scope of
your request. In this regard, until the terms of your request are
clarified, the statutory time frame for processing this request will not
commence.
As a starting point, it may be helpful to specify the types of trouble
tickets you are interested in. For example, is it lists relating to
service incidents you are seeking? It may also assist to name a timeframe.
I’d be happy to discuss how to best clarify the scope of the request, so
please feel free to call me (02) 9927 4118.
nbn’s Commercial Activities Exemption
Documents that relate to nbn’s “commercial activities” are not subject to
the operation of the FOI Act. The following link summarises and provides
[1]general background information concerning nbn’s commercial activities
exemption (CAE) or carve-out. That background document references two
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner reviews that considered
nbn’s CAE in January 2012 (the [2]Internode Decision) and again in July
2013 (the [3]Battersby Decision), with those decisions hyperlinked. While
I am not making a formal decision, nor have I reviewed any relevant
documents, there is a possibility that documents falling within this FOI
request may be subject to the CAE.
Processing Period & Charges
The statutory period for processing an FOI request is 30 days, subject to
any suspension of the processing period or extension of the time for
deciding the application. For the reasons outlined above, nbn will not
formally acknowledge, nor commence the processing of this request until
the terms of this FOI application have been sufficiently clarified. Please
also note that processing charges may be imposed in relation to FOI
requests. You will be advised of any charges in relation to your FOI
request. For reference, nbn’s approach to processing charges is outlined
at the following hyperlink: [4]Submission to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner Charges Review. In particular, nbn supports—and
will generally apply—Recommendation 24 in the [5]Hawke Review into FOI
Legislation (the Hawke Review) as a benchmark in reviewing FOI
applications. For your reference, Recommendation 24 suggests a 40-hour
ceiling for all FOI processing charges.
Disclosure Log
Please also be advised that nbn is required to publish documents on its
website within 10 working days after the release of the documents to an
FOI applicant. The information you seek may be published in full (as
released to the applicant) or with some additional redactions, based upon
exceptions under section 11C of the FOI Act. For further information
please visit our website and click on the [6]Disclosure Log link.
If you have any questions about this matter, please feel free to call me.
Sincerely,
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [7][email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
References
Visible links
1. http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnc...
2. http://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-inform...
3. http://www.oaic.gov.au/images/documents/...
4. http://www.oaic.gov.au/images/documents/...
5. http://www.oaic.gov.au/news-and-events/s...
6. http://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-inform...
7. mailto:[email address]
FOI Requests
Attention: Ms Kate Friedlich
nbn
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Dear Ms Friedlich,
In re: Reason codes
---------------------
Thank you for your email of 23 February 2017 explaining that the scope of my request is likely to be to large for nbn to process. It would probably help me to limit the scope of my request if you could tell me whether there are broad sub-categories of Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held notifications, and broad categories of Trouble Ticket Resolved notifications. From what you have said, it looks as if "lists relating to service incidents" one such sub-category. Are there others, or have I misunderstood what you are saying?
It would also help if you could clarify how it is that a person creating a trouble ticket will have any idea what code to put on it? For example, if a service person has to reschedule and leaves a notice with "Reason XBNF1104, Reschedule required", where did the XBNF1104 code come from? Is it just a private code that only that person is meant to understand, would it be understood by someone else in the NBN Co? ... and if so, how would they know what it means? Can they look up the code they need in a database or on a service app?
Lastly, do the codes change each day or month, or is that code XBNF1104 something that will have meaning (and still be usable) the week after it was written?
Some clarification of those issue would be a great help to me in limiting the relevant date range for any search and limit other aspects of the documents I seek.
Yours faithfully,
Mark R. Diamond
Hi Mark
Thanks for your email below.
Would you please give me a call on (02) 9927 4118 to discuss clarifying the scope of your request and queries below. Alternatively, do you have a contact number I could reach you on?
Kind regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
E [email address]
Hi Mark, just checking again if you have a number I could reach you on to discuss the request below, or if you would like to call me?
Kind regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
E [email address]
Dear Ms Friedrich,
Thank you for your latest follow-up email. I have in fact tried to call you on five occasions; three times last week and twice this week. My call has gone through to voice-messaging every time. Since my hearing is not very good, particularly on the telephone, it might not matter too much anyway.
Rather than constantly playing "tag", perhaps you could either help me to clarify my request either by telling me about the questions I asked in my last email, or telling me why that isn't going to help ... and exactly what you need.
Regards,
Mark R. Diamond
Dear Mark
My apologies, I'm not sure why your calls have gone through to messaging.
I can clarify one of your questions, the lists relating to service
incidents are a category of reason codes. Is this the information or
document/s you are seeking under the FOI Act?
I hope this assists. If it is the lists above that you are seeking, please
confirm this by reply, and we’ll be able to start processing your request,
per my email attached.
Kind regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [1][email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Hi Mark
I have received your voicemail today, as an email. I am part time and do not work Fridays, which is why I was not at my desk.
If there are certain times that suit you next week to phone, please let me know, and when we agree a time, I can make sure I am at my desk.
Kind regards
Kate
Hi Mark
I received your voicemails, thank you. I’ve been in meetings and was not
at my desk to take your calls. I note you said you are going to try again
this afternoon, but please note I am in back to back meetings today. If
you were able to leave a return phone number, I’d be happy to try you back
when I get a break.
Alternatively and as foreshadowed previously, if there was a time that
also suited you, I would also be happy to lock that time in the diary for
our discussion. For example, I have full availability between 1 and 2.30pm
and 4 and 5.30pm, tomorrow Thursday 16 March. Please let me know if there
is a window within these times that also suits you.
Kind regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [1][email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
FOI Requests
Attention: Ms Kate Friedrich
nbn
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Dear Ms Friedrich,
In re: Reason codes
---------------------
Dear Ms Friedrich,
Thank you for your latest follow-up email. I tried calling you again today during the times that you mentioned (13.10, 13.26, 13.48, 14.13, 16.48, 17.18) but got put through to voicemail on every occasion. Since telephone seems destined to fail, I'll try with more detail here.
You remarked in your email of 23 February 2017 that, "of the opinion that it would be an unreasonable diversion of nbn’s resources, per sections 24 and 24AA of the FOI Act. This is because there are scores of data that may fit within the scope of your request". I don't understand how you would have reached that conclusion.
In a letter (actually a template of a letter) dated 11 June 2014, and available from nbnco at http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnc... , Susan Huggett, General Manager – Wholesale Supply, explains that the nbnco has introduced "standard reason codes to Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held notifications together with standard resolution codes to Trouble Ticket Resolved Notifications". In light of the standardisation of the coding, and given that it is precisely those codes that I'm seeking, it seems improbable that there are "scores of data" tha might fit within the scope of my request. Rather, the strong implication is that there is a repository (perhaps in the form of a database) that would enable a person to rapidly determine the appropriate code associated with a particular reason for the issuance of a Trouble Ticket".
Note that I am not seeking information about any of the many thousands of trouble tickets that are likely to have been issued, only generic information about how those tickets are coded.
If the information that I have given here does not remove the s 24AA practical refusal reason, I would be grateful if you could tell me why it does not, and what further detail you think is needed to remove the practical refusal reason.
Regards,
Mark R. Diamond
p.s. My apologies for mis-spelling your name in my earlier email!
Mark, thank you for your email attached.
To date you have not clarified specifically what you are after, but rather
asked a series of additional questions (see second attachment) and cited a
letter from 2014 that refers to a particular set of reason codes.
As a result, based on my preliminary assessment, there are still many
documents that may fit within the scope of your request. Under section
15(2) of the FOI Act, a valid FOI request must provide such information
concerning the requested document as is reasonably necessary to enable nbn
to identify it.
Accordingly, would you please confirm whether you are after:
1) the "standard reason codes to Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending
and In Progress-Held notifications together with standard resolution codes
to Trouble Ticket Resolved Notifications" referenced in the template
letter dated 11 June 2014,
2) a list of the standard reason codes and their associated
descriptions for “Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held
notifications, and a list of the standard resolution codes and their
associated descriptions for Trouble Ticket Resolved notifications”:
a) currently used by nbn, or
b) ever used by nbn,
3) reason codes in relation to service incidents only, or other
incidents (as queried in the 2^nd attachment), and/or
4) other document/s.
As also noted previously, it would assist if you would specify a timeframe
for the requested documents.
Regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [1][email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
FOI Requests
Attention: Ms Kate Friedrich
nbn
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Dear Ms Friedrich,
In re: Reason codes
---------------------
Dear Ms Friedrich,
Thank you for your email of 21 March 2017.
You mention at least four possible restrictions that I might consider in relation to the scope of my request, in light of which I think that the following might make sense:
1. Remove the request for resolution related codes and descriptions; consider only Trouble Ticket In Progress-Pending and In Progress-Held notifications.
2. Consider only codes in relation to service incidents rather that any other incidents.
3. Consider only codes currently available for use rather that codes that might have been used in the past but are no longer available for use.
Please let me know whether you think those restrictions would make the request manageable. In addition, may I ask that before you go to the effort of considering a charges notice under s 29, you let me know informally what your rough estimate of any charge (or time) might be. It might save both of us a lot of work!
Regards,
Mark R. Diamond
Hi Mark, thank you for your email below.
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your FOI request, per section 15(5) of the FOI Act.
If you have any questions about this matter before you next hear from me, please feel free to email.
Sincerely,
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Dear Mr Diamond
Please see attached an advance deposit request in relation to your FOI
request.
Kind regards
Kate
Kate Friedrich
Senior Legal Counsel – FOI, Privacy & Knowledge Management
P +61 2 9927 4118| E [1][email address]
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2066
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
FOI Requests
nbn
Level 11, 100 Arthur Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Dear Ms Friedrich,
Re: Request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
Your reference: 1617/43.26
-----------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your letter of 20 April 2017 in which you outline the charges payable in respect of my request for documents relating reason codes.
I decline to pay the charge.
Yours faithfully,
Mark R. Diamond
Mark R. Diamond left an annotation ()
I have marked this request as having been withdrawn, not because I have withdrawn it, nor because I want to withdraw it. Instead, the operation of section 29(1)(g) will mean that my request "will be taken to have been withdrawn" in virtue of my failure either to pay the charge or make a contention about it.
Mark R. Diamond left an annotation ()
See also: "Explanation of reason codes for NBN instalation" (https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/e... ) by Navin Doloswala (https://www.righttoknow.org.au/user/navi... )