Media companies have welcomed extra protections for journalists under new data retention laws approved by Parliament's lower house but the journalists' union has condemned the deal agreed to by Labor and the Abbott government.
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The bill passed the House of Representatives just before question time when Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull used the government's numbers to gag debate and call on a vote.
The laws will force the telcos to store customer's internet and phone logs for two years but police will not be able to view the content within a person's communications without a warrant.
Under the new laws a public interest advocate will be created who will be able to contest police applications for warrants to identify a journalist's source. Media companies had wanted a blanket exemption or the ability to fight warrant applications in court.
But Fairfax Media welcomed the deal struck by Labor and the government as a "meaningful improvement on the original bill".
"We are pleased the government and the opposition has acknowledged the confidentiality of journalist's sources and the important role this has in the democratic process," a spokesman said.
The ABC described the legislation's safeguards, including a default position of protecting confidentiality as a "substantial improvement".
"The safeguards built into the proposed amendments, including the use of a public interest advocate and a default position in favour of protecting confidentiality, are a substantial improvement on the original wording," a spokesman said.
News Corp chief executive Julian Clarke said the amendment recognises "the importance of protecting the public's right to talk to journalists".
"It is encouraging to see some protection for those brave individuals who sometimes risk everything to reveal matters in the public interest, ensuring every Australian's right to know," Mr Clarke said.
Ten Network Holdings chief executive Hamish McLennan said: "It's good to see the government and opposition working together to achieve a sensible outcome which protects our journalists who provide a vital role in our democracy."
But the journalists' union was unconvinced by the amendments, with the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance chief executive Paul Murphy saying that the new arrangement still compromises the fundamental principle of source confidentiality.
"Any system with the capacity to go after confidential sources has a chilling effect on journalism because it targets whistleblowers who seek to expose wrongdoing," Mr Murphy said.
"If you are going after sources than you are going after journalism," he said.
The laws will only protect professional journalists working for recognised news organisations.
The legislation is likely to be approved in the Senate by the end of next week as Labor and the Liberals command an overwhelming majority in the upper house, making the crossbench redundant. Independent senator Nick Xenophon said while the government and Labor were "patting themselves on the back," they had "stabbed investigative journalism in the heart".
The bill was passed in the lower house on voices because fewer than five MPs including Greens MP Adam Bandt and Independents Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie voted against it.
Mr Turnbull and Labor frontbenchers Jason Clare and Mark Dreyfus struck a deal on Wednesday night after the opposition warned on the weekend that it could seek to amend the laws to bolster protections for journalists. MPs were facing a backlash from media companies who were worried the metadata laws would allow police to snoop on journalists' sources.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott the "very important piece of legislation" will help police tackle serious crimes including child sex abuse and terrorism.
"The Australian Federal Police advise that some 90 per cent of counter terrorism investigations involve the use of metadata as coincidentally do some 90 per cent of child abuse investigations," Mr Abbott told Parliament.
with Jared Lynch and Ben Grubb
