The Federal Opposition has cautioned against "rushing" the Government's metadata laws through Parliament, as the Prime Minister calls for the legislation to be passed by the middle of next month.

Tony Abbott has written to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten asking him to support the speedy passage of laws that will force telecommunications companies to retain certain data for two years.

Mr Abbott pointed to recent events like the Sydney siege and Paris terrorist attacks to argue the surveillance laws are urgently needed.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security is examining the legislation and will report back by February 27.

Mr Shorten said Labor would reserve its position until after the report was released.

"When it comes to fighting the dreadful scourge of terrorism we're all in this together, but we do no services or favours to the Australian people and their national security by rushing laws through the parliament," he said.

"Rush and haste will not help improve Australia's security."

Mr Shorten suggested Mr Abbott was being motivated by his leadership woes.

"Just because the Government is having its internal political upheavals and is focused on themselves is not a reason to throw our parliamentary system overboard," he said.

Mr Abbott visited the Victorian headquarters of the Australian Federal Police with AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin this morning.

The Prime Minister was given detailed briefings about three criminal cases, covering drug importation, child protection and counter-terrorism, where metadata was used.

Mr Abbott has offered Mr Shorten confidential briefings on the role metadata played in counter-terrorism investigations.

"I am advised by both the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that metadata and related telecommunications information played an important role in the response to the Lindt Cafe [Martin Place] siege and has been integral to the investigation following the [Charlie Hebdo] terrorist attacks in France," Mr Abbott wrote to Mr Shorten.

Key details of the data retention laws are still being considered by the Joint Parliamentary Committee, including what data telecommunications companies will be required to retain.

"This is precisely the kind of thing that is being looked at by the joint standing committee and once the committee's report has been given to us it's absolutely vital we crack on and get the legislation through," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Colvin said the Federal Police had set out what information it was interested in.

"We're working with industry very closely at the moment on what that dataset looks like; industry are being very responsive to law enforcement and to the Government," he said.

The Government has not yet put a figure on how much the laws will cost telecommunications companies, but Mr Abbott said the expense would be "modest".

"Even if the costs are in the order of a couple of hundred million you've got to remember that this is a $40 billion-plus sector," he said.

"We, the government, are prepared to work with the sector to ensure that we bear our fair share of the costs as well."

Many telecommunications companies already keep metadata but are not forced to retain it for any set period.

The Prime Minister's office has released case studies where a company's failure to keep metadata has hampered an investigation.