What proposed metadata laws do

WHAT THE METADATA LAWS DO:

* Forces telecommunications firms to store customer metadata - such as time, date and duration of calls, phone numbers, IP addresses and nearest base station - for two years.

* Only applies to metadata, not content.

* Police and security agencies can request metadata from telcos without a warrant. Request for content will continue to require warrants and only issued on life-threatening emergencies.

* Access to a journalist's metadata will require a warrant but an advocate appointed by the prime minister can recommend it's in the public interest for it not to be issued.

* Regime will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee three years after launch.