Privacy fears as Australian surveillance laws are dragged into the digital era

One of Australia’s key laws governing surveillance -- the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (TIA) Act of 1979 -- is desperately in need of an overhaul.

Under the TIA Act there are three ways authorities can gain access to private information.

The first is access to the content and substance of telecommunications in real time, for which they need a warrant. This provides access to the content of emails, text messages, phone calls and Internet use.

Second, there is access to stored telecommunications and their contents, which also requires a warrant. For this, authorities must suspect the person of an offence that carries a minimum three-year sentence.

Then there is access to metadata, the shell details of communications -- calls and emails sent and received, the location of a phone, Internet browsing activity. There is no access to the content of the communication, just how, to or from whom, when and where. A warrant is not required for this, and under the current law organisations other than police or security agencies can get access to it.