Sydney councils are asking telecommunications companies to provide them with customers’ phone records to help them chase down fines and enforce minor infringements, including littering.

Telecommunications industry group Communications Alliance has revealed local councils were among more than 80 agencies that have made requests for metadata in the three years since the federal government attempted to restrict access to such records to law enforcement agencies.

Metadata includes email addresses, phone numbers, the amount of information in text messages and the times and places from which communications are sent, but not the actual content.

The federal government restricted access to metadata to law enforcement and spy agencies in the Data Retention Act. Credit:Tamara Voninski

In 2015 the federal government passed legislation that required telecommunications companies to hold their customers' metadata for two years so that it was available to police and intelligence agencies investigating serious crimes and terrorist threats.