Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar has slammed the controversial anti-encryption laws, saying they are "dangerous", while Labor has vowed to fix the policy to minimise the impact on local firms.

The "assistance and access" policy was passed by the parliament in December 2018 and outline a range of orders that law enforcement can issue to technology companies, compelling them to help decrypt information in order to uncover communications about serious crimes.

They have been widely unpopular in the technology community because of concerns they will compromise system safety and could lead to developers facing penalties for not complying with the laws.

The panel at Fishburners in Sydney: Sarah Moran, Nicole Nye, FastMail, Nuix founder Eddie Sheehy, and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar. Credit:UTS Guy Degen.

The government has championed the bill as a key national security measure, saying terrorist groups have an increasing reliance on encrypted messages. Last December, Home Affairs called it "vital legislation" to fight serious crime.