The bill does not explain exactly what constitutes metadata, but it will not include the content of calls or emails, web browsing history or website addresses (URLs). The time, date and location of calls and emails – including source IP addresses - is usually classed as metadata. Authorities will require a warrant to access the content of communications. The bill will be immediately referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for consideration and could become law by the end of the year. AFP commissioner Andrew Colvin said the scheme could "absolutely" be used to tackle online copyright infringement. "Illegal downloads, piracy, cyber crimes, cyber security, all these matters - our ability to investigate them is absolutely pinned to our ability to retrieve and use metadata," he told reporters.

Mr Turnbull said requiring internet companies to store customer data for two years would probably not make a "big difference" to tackling copyright infringement. Rights holders are generally concerned about real time infringement rather than historical illicit downloads, he said. Mr Turnbull earlier told Parliament that criminal investigations were failing because authorities do not have sufficient access to metadata. For example, the Australian Federal Police have not been able to identify 156 potential suspects in a child exploitation investigation because an internet service provider had not kept sufficient IP address records. "Access to metadata plays a central role in almost every counter-terrorism, counter espionage, cyber security, organised crime investigation," he said. "It is also used in almost all serious criminal investigations, including investigations into murder, serious sexual assaults, drug trafficking and kidnapping."

Mr Turnbull stressed that the bill does not expand the type of data that authorities can access. The AFP, ASIO and other organisations can already access metadata without a warrant; the government's new laws would require telcos to store the data for two years. Mr Turnbull said the government would contribute substantially to the cost of the scheme but that he could not estimate its total cost. Telecommunications companies have said that customers will face higher internet bills – a default "surveillance tax" - because of the cost of securing and storing the data unless the government pays for the scheme. There have been concerns that a mandatory data retention regime would lead to unprecedented surveillance over ordinary Australians because a wide range of authorities - including local councils and the RSPCA - can currently access it without a warrant. The government's bill would limit metadata access without a warrant to law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police and Australian Crime Commission.

The Greens, Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm and independent Senator Nick Xenophon have indicated they will not support a mandatory data retention scheme. Labor called this week for the government to consult broadly with the community before legislating such a scheme. Follow us on Twitter