Australia is expected to seek an agreement with the US in order to gain access to data located there when needed upon execution of a local warrant with a US tech outfit.
A report in Fairfax Media said Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor would visit the US soon to set the stage for an agreement.
The report comes in the wake of the passage of the CLOUD ((Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) Act by the US on 23 March. The law was driven by a case filed by the Department of Justice which has sought emails from Microsoft that are stored in Ireland.
The passage of the Act was welcomed by Taylor, who said in a statement on Sunday: "The CLOUD Act will greatly improve the efficiency of law enforcement's access to the information they need to do their job and strengthen protections of people's data, no matter where their data is held.
{loadposition sam08}"Timely access to electronic data held by communications service providers is an essential component of government efforts to protect public safety and combat serious crime, including terrorism, child sex offences, and organised crime.
"Those efforts are impeded when access to important data held on servers overseas is slowed down by cumbersome processes not suited for fast-advancing communication environments, significantly delaying the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes.
"Given the size and scale of technology and communications companies based in the US, the CLOUD Act has the potential to be of significant benefit to law enforcement. Australia welcomes the US taking leadership on this issue."
The case between Microsoft and the DoJ is now irrelevant as the department has filed a fresh warrant under the new law. However, it has not been officially dismissed as yet.