Australian carriers and internet service providers (ISPs) will be required to retain data on their customers as of October 13th, 2015. But just how they'll access the cash Australia's government has made available to do the retention is still unknown.

News of the deadline came from the nation's attorney-general in a letter posted here on the website of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA).

There's a sliver of good news in the announcement, as its possible for carriers and ISPs to apply for “an extension of up to 18 months by lodging an Implementation Plan that details how they will achieve compliance in the extended period” or “an exemption from and/or variation of the data retention obligations in relation to a specific service.”

The Reg imagines most carriers and ISPs will request an extension, because the letter also says that information on how to access government cash to build retention rigs is forthcoming. It's hard to imagine carriers and ISPs rushing to build retention systems before they know how much of the AU$131m Australia's government will contribute they can get their hands on.

But come April 13, 2017, it looks like all carriers and ISPs will need to operate a compliant data retention rig capable of storing two years' worth of data. That's a Thursday, so get your carrier pigeons ready on Wednesday, okay? ®