Metadata retention commences, but breach notification delayed

Introduction

On 13 October 2015, substantial amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) (TIA) took effect to introduce a new metadata retention scheme into the TIA. This scheme requires telecommunications carriers and internet service providers (telcos) to maintain records of certain telecommunications data, known as 'metadata', for a period of two years.

What is being kept and why?

Under the metadata retention scheme, the metadata to be kept includes:

• subscriber or account-holder details;
• the source of the communication (whether it is an account, service or device);
• the destination of the communication (whether it is an account, service or device);