On 21 November the Attorney-General, Senator The Hon George Brandis, asked the Committee to inquire into and report on the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014.

The Bill follows the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) and Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014 as the Government's third tranche of legislation in response to the current national security threat.

The proposal to introduce a mandatory data retention scheme was explored in depth in the Committee's 2013 Report of the Inquiry into Potential Reforms of Australia's National Security Legislation.

The Committee tabled its report on 27 February 2015. A copy of the report is available at this link.