To assauge concerns about civil liberties, it reduced the number of authorities that could access such information without a warrant from about 50 agencies to 22 law enforcement bodies.

However, Communications Alliance chief executive John Stanton told a parliamentary inquiry that state-based agencies were still able to obtain metadata under a clause of the Telecommunications Act that was inserted at the same time the Data Retention Act was passed.

A total of 84 organisations had sought the information from alliance members, including the Bankstown, Brisbane, Fairfield and Rockdale councils, state departments governing community services, fisheries and primary industry, Australia Post, the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency and racing agencies. Including requests made to companies that were not members of the alliance, there were likely to be more.

"There's not 20 organisations seeking metadata, there's more than 100," Mr Stanton said.

In one example, a local council attempted to use metadata to chase a litterbug, by asking a telecommunications carrier to report the location of calls by a man whose name was on an envelope dumped on the street.

"That's a somewhat extreme example but that has happened in the past'" he said.

"What sort of organisation does the Australian public think ought to be able to access personal information? Do they want local councils to be able to chase up information about who they fine?"

Fairfield City Council said its requests for metadata were in relation to illegal dumping. Canterbury Bankstown Council said the former Bankstown council had made 10 metadata requests in a bid to place someone at the scene of an illegal dumping site after they had denied involvement. Bayside Council, which incorporates the former Rockdale Council, has been asked to comment.

The Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency said it had not made any requests since the data retention laws came into force, though it had previously done so to assist its investigations, "often in relation to contested allegations of inappropriate relationships between patients and practitioners".

Law enforcement and spy agencies make about 300,000 requests for metadata per year, or 1000 per business day.

A freedom of information request filed by Electronic Frontiers Australia in 2015 found that 61 non-law enforcement agencies had made such requests.

Telecommunications providers did not necessarily disclose metadata for every request.

But Mr Stanton said they usually gave the organisation requesting the information the benefit of the doubt. "It's not their job to interrogate the reasons for the request."

Telecommunications industry group Communications Alliance disclosed the list to a parliamentary inquiry into the proposed expansion of police access to encrypted messages. It only includes requests made to members of the alliance.

The Department of Home Affairs has been approached for comment.

Since April 2015, the following agencies have sought access to metadata from members of the Communications Alliance members:

Australian Crime Commission

Australian Border Force

ACLEI

AFP

AFP ACT Policing

AFP PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

AFSA

ASIC

Australian Tax Office

Australia Post Corporate Security Group

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

BANKSTOWN CITY COUNCIL

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL

CENTRELINK

CONSUMER & BUSINESS AFFAIRS – VIC

Corrections Intelligence Group – NSW

CRIME AND MISCONDUCT COMMISSION

Customs

Department of Agriculture

Department of Defence

Department of Environment and Conservation WA

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT & RESOURCES

DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION

DEPT FAIR TRADING NSW

DEPT FAIR TRADING-BRISBANE

DEPT OF COMMERCE WA

DEPT OF FAMILIES, HOUSING COMMUNITY SERVICES

DIBP BRISBANE

DIBP CANBERRA

DIBP MELBOURNE

DIBP QLD

DIBP SYDNEY

FACS

FAIRFIELD CITY COUNCIL

FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

HEALTHCARE COMPLAINTS COMMISSIONS

IBAC

ICAC SYDNEY

NSW CC

NSW EPA

NSW Office of State Revenue

NSW Police

NSW POLICE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

NSW Government Trade, Investment, Resources and Energy

NT POLICE

NTPOL

OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE

OFFICE OF STATE REVENUE NSW

Police Integrity Commission – NSW

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND RESOURCES SA

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES NSW

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES QLD

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES VIC

QLD Department of Fair Trading

QLD TRANSPORT

Queensland Police Service

Racing Integrity VIC

REGIONAL ILLEGAL DUMPING SQUAD

Rockdale City Council

SA FISHERIES

SA ICAC

SA POLICE ANTI CORRUPTION

SA POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION BRANCH

SA POLICE STATE INTELLIGENCE

TAS POLICE

TAS POLICE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS

Taxi Services Commission

TRANSPORT ACCIDENT COMMISSION MELBOURNE

VIC DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES

VIC Department of Justice

VIC Department of Health and Human Services

VIC POLICE ETHICAL STANDARDS

VIC INSTITUTE OF TEACHING

VIC POLICE

VIC Sheriff’s Offices

WA CCC

WA Department of Fair Trading

WA FISHERIES

WA POLICE STATE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION

Work Safe VIC

WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY