Australian government officials accused of 'cavalier disregard' for unauthorised metadata access

Parliamentary committee hears state and government agencies sought data 8,432 times in 2018-19

Federal government officials have been accused of a "cavalier disregard" for the dozens of state and federal government agencies accessing data retained under the mandatory data retention regime thousands of times a year despite legislation explicitly excluding them from access.

Under the mandatory data retention legislation passed in 2015, the number of agencies allowed to access the data was narrowed down to just 21. But the telecommunications industry organisation Communications Alliance has revealed that at least 87 other state and federal organisations - including city councils, the RSPCA and the South Australian fisheries department - have accessed the data under section 280 of the Telecommunications Act.