Australia's corporate regulators have warned that the government's new data retention regime could hamper their ability to investigate white-collar crime.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Tax Office said the federal government's proposed new data retention laws could prevent them from gathering personal telecommunications data for use in investigations.
The changes were introduced as part of the government's "counter-terrorism" package. Under the existing regime regulators are able to access stored metadata but that will be curtailed under the bill making its way through parliament.
Information it has gathered as part of investigations of corporate crime in the past, including basic information on telephone calls and emails, will not be able to be obtained for investigations under the new regime unless it is given special clearance by the government.
Communications intercepts are a key evidence gathering tool in investigating white collar crimes such as insider trading and fraud.
An ASIC spokeswoman said the regulator had made a number approaches to the government on the issue.
Investigation of "insider trading, market manipulation and various forms of financial services fraud" would be particularly impacted by the new laws, she said.
The ATO said it would "likely" be affected by the changes and that it was "currently reviewing the potential impact of the proposed amendments on our operations".
"The laws we administer give us powers to obtain information, which we use to detect, deter and deal with abuse of the taxation and superannuation systems," a spokesperson said.
"The ATO is likely to be affected by the [bill]."
While government departments and agencies can currently access metadata without a warrant, the new laws restrict access to such data to criminal law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
This is in response to public concern about privacy.
The bill was introduced to parliament by the government late last month. It will be referred to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security for consideration, a move expected to delay a vote until at least February.
ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft is understood to have written to Attorney-General George Brandis and Finance minister Mathias Cormann to express concerns about the bill.
The consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, would not comment on the potential impact of the bill on its work but has previously argued that access to communications material was "crucial" to investigations of breaches of competition and consumer law.
"This information is often the only irrefutable evidence of contact between cartelists and is critical to successful investigations and prosecutions," it said in a submission.
Senator Cormann said the government had limited access to certain agencies after significant public concern over privacy.
He said the bill would still allow agencies such as ASIC to apply to the Attorney-General to be declared eligible to access information.
"We recognise that there are other agencies, such as regulators that play important law enforcement and national security roles and that may legitimately require access to telecommunications data as part of their duties.
"For example, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission plays a key role in combating white-collar crime, such as insider trading, which is frequently committed over the phone and via email."
Requests by ASIC for information will be subject to "strict criteria and parliamentary oversight," he said.
Agencies will have six months after the passage of the bill to obtain a declaration.
Labor's assistant treasurer spokesman Andrew Leigh said the government had not made clear which agencies would have access to information under its data retention proposal.
"That uncertainty must be troubling for the Australian Tax Office and ASIC at a time when the government is also slashing budgets by hundreds of millions of dollars and forcing thousands of staff out the door," he said.
