Sky News' David Speers was just as confused as George Brandis after the Attorney-General struggled to explain the concept of 'metadata' live on air.

AUSTRALIANS who illegally download films and TV shows from the internet would not be punished or have their internet speeds slowed down under new reforms being presented to cabinet today.

But the proposed laws, if eventually approved, would block would-be downloaders in Australia from accessing the popular websites that host the illegal material.

Fairfax reports that Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will present the reforms to colleagues today at the last cabinet meeting of the year.

The reforms, if agreed on, would be considered a disappointingly light touch to the companies that own the rights to movies and TV shows, because they have been campaigning for tough laws and punitive penalties to curb online piracy.

Among their wishes was slower download speeds for any internet user caught downloading illegal content.

According to the report by Fairfax, Senator Brandis and Mr Turnbull’s submission today advises internet providers and TV and movie makers to come up with a voluntary code that would be registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, stating that illegal downloaders would be formally warned about any online copyright breaches.

And if the measures are adopted, rights holders could take out court orders instructing internet providers to block websites that host the illegal material.

The government hasn’t ruled out taking further legislative action over internet piracy in the future, if the measures expected to be outlined today don’t work.

In the past, talks between internet service providers and media rights owners have broken down. There is conflict over who should fork out for any scheme that targets illegal downloaders.

Internet providers believe that such a scheme should be paid for by the rights holders, whereas copyright owners believe it should be a 50-50 split.

Mr Turnbull and Senator Brandis reportedly consulted with the entertainment industry, internet providers and consumer groups when writing the reforms.

Australians are among the most keen online pirates in the world, while popular drama Game of Thrones setting a new record this year to become the most illegally-downloaded show in history.