Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government was committed to reforming the Mandatory Data Retention Regime. He highlighted the work of the bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which published a report finding “while the Mandatory Data Retention Regime provides critical assistance to law enforcement and intelligence services, the regime lacks transparency and adequate safeguards.” Also, the PJCIS “heard evidence that a large number of non-criminal law enforcement agencies, including local councils, were using other laws to gain access to people’s metadata outside” the retention regime.