Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has demanded ministers explain what they knew about a "shocking" breach in which a federal police officer accessed a journalist's metadata without a warrant.
Mr Dreyfus said Australian Federal Police minister Michael Keenan and Attorney-General George Brandis shouldn't "handball" the "shocking" breach, which was revealed on Friday, onto the AFP.
He said the ministers needed to explain when they found out and what immediate action was taken.
"Is there a legitimate reason for the public announcement being made two days after the breach was reported to the Ombudsman?" he said in a statement.
"Above all, the government must explain what it is doing to ensure such a breach never happens again."
In announcing the breach on Friday, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin blamed "human error" and said the organisation was trying to be "open and honest" by self reporting.
The breach, which occurred earlier this year, involved the time, date and duration of phone calls over a period of about a week, not the calls themselves, Mr Colvin said.
Watch: Federal police admit to metadata breach
The story has reignited concerns about controversial data retention laws, which came into force across all Australian telecommunications providers on April 13.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman is conducting an audit of the matter, but the officer has not faced any disciplinary action.
Mr Colvin said the journalist has not been informed.
