Can You Legally Record a Conversation in Australia

Under section 6 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic), a person may not knowingly install, use or maintain a listening device to eavesdrop on, record, monitor or intercept a private conversation in which he or she is not involved. It is more likely to be considered a lawful recording if the subject matter is disputed and the conversation or characteristics of the recorded person indicate that it is necessary to make the recording in order to obtain a confession relating to a conversation in support of a legitimate aim. Throughout Australia, it is perfectly legal to record your phone conversations if you get consent from the other party. You must inform the person you are talking to that you are recording the call. This way, they can make an informed decision about whether to continue the conversation because they know you`re recording it. You can also request to be transferred to an unregistered line. The recording of telephone conversations involves additional regulation included in federal legislation, the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act of 1979. The federal law has the effect of prohibiting the use of devices that intercept communications “through a telecommunications system.” In Western Australia, it is illegal to record a private conversation without the consent of all parties involved, whether or not you are involved in the conversation. However, it is legal to record a phone call as long as a major party agrees and its use is reasonably necessary to protect that party`s legitimate interests. It is also legal to record private conversations without a party`s consent if it is in the public interest.

According to Article 30E of the Act, the maximum penalty for violations is a heavy fine or imprisonment of up to 2 years. An employer may also consider taking action against an employee if the case involves misuse of their confidential business information. These arrest warrants can allow both undercover police officers and third parties, such as police informants, to legally record private conversations. The maximum penalty for recording a phone call in New South Wales is 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to 100 penalties. In New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, it is legal to record a private conversation (i.e. not in a public space) if both parties consent to the recording. It is also lawful if only one party agrees and one of the following two conditions is met: Registration must be reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests existing at that time: Marsden v Amalgamated Television Services Pty Ltd [2000] NSWSC 456. Making a registration because there is a possibility of legal litigation in the future is not a legitimate interest. Why should you record your conversations? Companies can record their calls for training and quality purposes. Most people who record their calls do so to protect themselves – recordings can serve as evidence in divorce settlements, custody disputes, criminal investigations, civil lawsuits, etc. If recording the private conversation without consent was the only practical way to prove that the conversation took place, it is more likely that the recording will be considered legal.

This may be the case if there is a serious criminal offence or if there are serious concerns about the safety of a child. Another example of a “legitimate interest in taking a secret recording” is R v EP [2019] CASTC 89, in which a woman complained to the police that the alleged perpetrator had threatened to broadcast sexually explicit images of her. Later, she found an intimate photo of herself on her driveway, which took her to the police. Later, she made a secret recording of a conversation with her and the alleged perpetrator. The recording revealed the alleged attacker`s confession that he had told her that she had to have sex with him for 3 months, otherwise he would broadcast the intimate images of her. It is legal in all jurisdictions to record a phone call if all parties to the phone call agree. Australian law specifies that the recording ban only applies to “private conversations”. “Required” means reasonable but not essential, while “reasonable” is an objective review to be assessed based on the circumstances of the case. In Australia, each state and territory has its own record-keeping laws to protect people`s private conversations and activities. Common legislation, shared by all states and territories, concerns the use of listening devices (telephones, voice recorders, etc.) in private conversations.

The law prohibits the recording of private conversations without the consent of at least one participant. But is it legal to record a private conversation or phone call in Australia? The short answer is that if a person is not involved in a private conversation, they are usually forbidden to secretly record that conversation or use a device to eavesdrop on that conversation. A private conversation is a conversation in which at least one party does not reasonably want to be listened to or observed by anyone other than the people present. A person is “a party” to a private conversation when words are spoken to him or her by or to him or her during the conversation. Similar rules apply in Queensland, with an additional criterion that you cannot share the recording after recording with someone who did not participate in the original conversation. In most jurisdictions, the question of whether such evidence is admissible is governed by section 138 of the Evidence Act 1995, which gives the court a “discretionary power to exclude evidence obtained unlawfully or unlawfully”. In Queensland, it is legal to use a hearing/recording device to record a private conversation as long as you are involved in that conversation.