Labor has vowed not to wave through "inadequate" laws allowing police access to encrypted messages on Australian phones simply because the federal government says the proposed powers are urgently needed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants a committee scrutinising the legislation to speed up its deliberations so the bill can clear parliament before the long summer break.
But shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says while Labor appreciates the sense of urgency, it won't support bad law.
"Labor will not respond to the government's demand that the intelligence committee accelerate its processes by just waving through something that's inadequate," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Tech companies, industry groups and commonwealth watchdogs have all raised concerns about the proposed powers.
"All of which point to problems in the bill, all of which complain the government didn't consult properly before it brought the bill into parliament," Mr Dreyfus said.
"We will be working to make sure that if something can go forward, it as far as possible deals with the problems that have been identified."
Attorney-General Christian Porter anticipates the committee will wrap up its deliberations within the next two weeks.
ASIO boss Duncan Lewis backs the new laws to stop terrorists from hiding their plans in messaging services like WhatsApp.
"I anticipate ASIO would immediately use this legislation if and when it becomes available," Mr Lewis told committee members in Canberra on Monday.
"ASIO has cases afoot at the moment where this legislation will directly assist."
The committee held four hours of top secret briefings on Monday, as well as public hearings.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Labor MP Anthony Byrne released a joint statement from the committee saying they were actively considering the request to speed it up.
"The committee will publicly announce any changes to its remaining scheduled hearings after consideration of the evidence heard (on Monday)," they said.
Mr Lewis said Christmas was generally a high point for terror threats, but the spy agency had no evidence of a specific attack being planned for a particular time or place in the upcoming holiday season.
Technology giants including Twitter, Facebook and Google have raised serious concerns about the scope of the bill and a lack of oversight.
The companies are concerned the proposed powers could erode customer trust and undermine public safety by making it easier for "bad actors" to commit crimes against individuals and organisations.
Mr Lewis said the powers would help enormously in tackling not just terrorism but also foreign espionage and organised crime.
Two more public hearings are scheduled for later this week.
