The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Act 2015 (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (original Act) and the Telecommunications Act 1997 to introduce a statutory obligation for Australian telecommunication service providers (TSPs) to retain, for a period of two years, particular types of telecommunications data (metadata) and introduces certain reforms to the regimes applying to the access of stored communications and telecommunications data under the original Act. The Act is the third tranche of national security legislation passed by the Australian Parliament since September 2014. Pursuant to the Act, the following types of information need to be retained by telecommunication service providers: incoming and outgoing telephone caller identification; the date, time and duration of a phone call; the Location of the device from which phone call was made; the unique identifier number assigned to a particular mobile phone of the phones involved in each particular phone call; the email address from which an email is sent; the time, date and recipients of emails; the size of any attachment sent with emails and their file formats; account details held by the internet service provider (ISP) such as whether or not the account is active or suspended. The content or substance of a communication is not considered to be metadata and will not be stored. Twenty-two agencies including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), state police forces, Australian Crime Commission, Australian Taxation Office and NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) are able to view stored metadata without a warrant. The only exception is the metadata of those defined under the Act as journalists. Under a concession driven by the Australian Labor Party, agencies need to seek a warrant before a judicial officer before they are able to view the metadata of journalists, whilst ASIO will need to seek permission of the Attorney-General. The Abbott Government's decision to introduce a mandatory telecommunications data regime led to considerable community debate. It was supported by law enforcement and national security agencies, including the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, who argued telecommunications data is critical to criminal investigations and that it is only through legislation that they can be assured that it will be available. The decision was opposed by a wide range of groups and individuals including journalists, human rights organisations and civil liberties groups. Their objections were made on a number of grounds, such as the consequences for journalism and journalistic practice, the non-proportionate and increasing encroachment of the privacy of Australia's population, and the effectiveness of the regime as a tool to combat crime. Questions over its cost and the consequences for the telecommunications industry, in particular small to medium-sized providers, have also been raised as arguments against mandatory data retention. TSPs and ISPs were given an 18-month grace period to improve their systems and establish processes to comply with the legislation. Telstra has indicated it will store data it retains within Australia, but other TSPs and ISPs are not obligated to do so under the law. (en)