More than 60 government agencies are seeking to regain warrantless access to Australians’ phone and web metadata, in what appears to be a major pushback after the federal government restricted the number of agencies that could access it.
In 2015, the federal government succeeded in passing controversial news laws that vastly increased the amount of Australians’ personal phone and web data required to be held by telecommunications companies.
As part of its review of the legislation, the government narrowed the definition of an “enforcement agency” that was eligible to access telecommunications data to a shortlist of law enforcement agencies, including the Australian federal police and state and territory police forces.
But it left open the potential for the list to be expanded if the attorney general, George Brandis, introduced a regulation to approve an agency’s access, as part of the changes agreed to following the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security inquiry into the legislation.
On Monday Zdnet published the full list of agencies that are seeking access to stored metadata, in response to a freedom of information request it sent to the Attorney General’s Department.
It appears to contain agencies that have previously sought access under the scheme, which sees hundreds of thousands of requests each year by government agencies to telecommunications companies for access to personal data.
Local councils, state-based wildlife organisations and environment and consumer protection bodies are all seeking to regain their access.
In a bizarre decision, the names of four agencies seeking access have been withheld by the Attorney General’s Department on the grounds that releasing them would damage commonwealth/state relations.
“During consultation, these four agencies clearly indicated that disclosure of this information would damage the relationship between the department and the relevant agencies, and could affect any future cooperation with the department,” the department told Zdnet.
The process for approving acccess to telecommunications data is complex. Regulations must be introduced first by the attorney general stating the agency that is seeking access.
The matter must then be referred to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security for approval, and to determine whether any conditions should be imposed on the agency’s access. The privacy commissioner and commonwealth ombudsman can also be consulted.
For commonwealth agencies, it may be possible to bypass this process if amendments to their enabling legislation are introduced separately that prescribe access.
This method was taken to allow the Australian Border Force to gain access to telecommunications data without needing to gain approval from the Attorney General’s Department or the intelligence committee.
The full list of agencies published by Zdnet
- Australian Financial Security Authority
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- Australian Postal Corporation
- Australian Taxation Office
- Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
- Civil Aviation Safety Authority
- Clean Energy Regulator
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Defence
- Department of the Environment
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Department of Health
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Social Services
- Fair Work Building and Construction
- National Measurement Institute
- ACT Revenue Office
- Access Canberra (Department of Treasury and Economic Development)
- Bankstown City Council
- Consumer Affairs – Victoria
- Consumer, Building and Occupational Services – Tasmania
- Consumer and Business Services – SA
- [redacted]
- [redacted]
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – Queensland
- Department of Commerce – WA
- Department of Corrective Services – WA
- Department of Environment and Heritage Protection – Queensland
- Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources – Victoria
- Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning – Victoria
- Department of Environment Regulation – WA
- Department of Fisheries – WA
- Department of Justice and Regulation (Consumer Affairs) – Victoria
- Department of Justice and Regulation (Sheriff of Victoria)
- Department of Mines and Petroleum – WA
- [redacted]
- Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) – NSW
- Environment Protection Authority – SA
- Greyhound Racing Victoria
- Harness Racing New South Wales
- Health Care Complaints Commission – NSW
- Legal Services Board – Victoria
- NSW Environment Protection Authority
- NSW Fair Trading
- Office of Environment and Heritage – NSW
- Office of Fair Trading – Queensland
- Office of State Revenue – NSW
- Office of State Revenue – Queensland
- Office of the Racing Integrity Commissioner – Vic
- Primary Industries and Regions South Australia
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission
- Racing and Wagering Western Australia
- Racing NSW
- Racing Queensland
- Roads and Maritime Service NSW
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) – Victoria
- State Revenue Office – Victoria
- Taxi Services Commission – Victoria
- [redacted]
- Revenue SA
- Victorian WorkSafe Authority
