Scott Ludlum may be the Greens Senator who detailed how to get around the law, but the then Communications Minister and our now current Prime Minister, said the following [1]:<p><pre><code>  “If you have a device, you know, a phone or a smartphone, and if I call you 
  through the mobile phone network there will be a record. Say my phone’s 
  with Telstra, there’ll be a record with Telstra that I’ve called your 
  number.

  If on the other hand I communicate with you via Skype for a voice call or
  Viber, send you a message on WhatsApp or Wickr or Threema or Signal or
  Telegrammer — there’s a gazillion of them — or indeed if you make a 
  FaceTime call, then all that the telco can see, insofar as it can see 
  anything, is that my device has had a connection with the Skype server 
  or the WhatsApp server; it doesn’t see anything happening with you.”
</code></pre>
1. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.businessinsider.com.au&#x2F;malcolm-turnbulls-sky-news-interview-basically-renders-the-metadata-retention-laws-useless-2015-3" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.businessinsider.com.au&#x2F;malcolm-turnbulls-sky-news...</a>