Data retention not a big worry: Telstra

Telstra is unfazed by the government's mandatory data retention proposals, CEO David Thodey says.

"We hold a lot of data today," Mr Thodey said after announcing Telstra's full-year results on Thursday.

"We've got to get some clarity around exactly what changes the government is asking, but on the early discussions we don't see it as a significant issue for Telstra going forward."

The government last week said it would introduce laws forcing telcos to retain "metadata" on customer phone and internet use for two years for warrantless access by government agencies.

The government claimed the cost would be minimal because telcos already store information such as the time and duration of phone calls and customer IP addresses.

That was disputed by telco iiNet, which claimed that extra collection and storage could cost the company up to $100 million in the first two years.

Discussions between the government and telcos regarding data retention are ongoing.