Key Points:
Licenced carriers, carriage service providers and
internet service providers must now retain and secure for two years
metadata relating to the telecommunications services they offer,
unless they have an approved Data Retention Implementation
Plan.
New laws amending the Telecommunications (Interception and
Access) Act 1979 (Cth) came into effect this week to require
licensed carriers, carriage service providers and internet service
providers to retain data arising from customer communications for
not less than two years.
Up until the introduction of these new laws, the Act did not
specify the types of data the telecommunications industry was
required to hold, or specify how long that information should be
retained for. This meant there was significant variation in the
types of data available to law enforcement and national security
agencies, impeding their ability to investigate and prosecute
serious offences.
