George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

There is no actual destruction obligation. This whole debate has proceeded against the background of protests on behalf or the critics of this legislation that industry does not want to retain this data for so long. It is hardly likely, it said to me, that those who do not want to retain the data for the statutory minimum period are going to be wanting to retain data that is no longer the subject of a retention obligation. For that reason, by the way, this bill does not contain a destruction obligation when whatever is the relevant period expires, whether it be the two-year period or on the scenario that you have posited in your question, in the event of the parliament after 40 sitting days not upholding a ministerial legislative instrument. As I am reminded, the privacy act would apply to such data in the unlikely event that a Telco or ISP which was affected by it were to retain that data.