Is it legal to record a conversation in New South Wales?
In NSW you can record a conversation you're part of if the recording is for you. Giving it to someone who wasn't there needs everyone's agreement or a protective reason. Recording a talk you're not in is an offence.
- Recording a talk you're in
- Yes, if the recording is for you — that on its own is enough. Recording it in order to give it to someone who wasn't there needs everyone's agreement, or a speaker's agreement plus a reason that protects that speaker's lawful interests 1
- Recording one you're not in
- An offence, unless one of the speakers agrees to you recording. Their agreement makes you a party to the conversation, and you are then treated like anyone else in it 1
- Sharing a recording
- A recording you made lawfully isn't caught by the publishing ban. Publishing a conversation that came from an unlawful recording is a separate offence 1
- Biggest penalty
- Up to $11,000 or 5 years in prison for an individual. A company faces up to $55,000 1
- Phone calls
- A call you're on follows the same rules, because you're part of that conversation. What's different is the Commonwealth offence of catching a call while it's still crossing the network 3
In New South Wales you can record a conversation you’re part of, as long as the recording is for you. 1
That changes if you’re recording it in order to give it to someone who wasn’t in the conversation. Then you need one of two things. Either everyone who spoke agrees, or one of them agrees and the recording is reasonably necessary to protect that person’s lawful interests. 1
Recording a conversation you’re not part of is a separate offence, and so is passing on a recording that was made unlawfully.
Can you record a conversation you’re part of in New South Wales?
Yes, if the recording is for you.
New South Wales starts from a ban. Recording a private conversation is an offence, including one you are in. A private conversation is one the people having it clearly meant to keep to themselves; a chat you’d reasonably expect to be overheard isn’t private in the first place. The Act then sets out when someone in the conversation is exempt. 1
s 7(1), (3) When a participant may record Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
(1) A person must not knowingly install, use or cause to be used or maintain a listening device— (a) to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a private conversation to which the person is not a party, or (b) to record a private conversation to which the person is a party. Maximum penalty—500 penalty units (in the case of a corporation) or 100 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment, or both (in any other case). […] (3) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply to the use of a listening device by a party to a private conversation if— (a) all of the principal parties to the conversation consent, expressly or impliedly, to the listening device being so used, or (b) a principal party to the conversation consents to the listening device being so used and the recording of the conversation— (i) is reasonably necessary for the protection of the lawful interests of that principal party, or (ii) is not made for the purpose of communicating or publishing the conversation, or a report of the conversation, to persons who are not parties to the conversation. […]
Which exemption you rely on depends on why you are recording.
If the recording is for you — a note on a meeting, a record of what was agreed — you are exempt on that basis alone. 1
If you are recording in order to give it to someone who wasn’t in the conversation, a lawyer or the police or an employer, that exemption stops covering you. You need one of the other two instead. Either everyone who spoke agrees to the recording, or one of them agrees and the recording is reasonably necessary to protect that person’s lawful interests. 1
The Act is specific about whose agreement counts. It has to come from the people actually speaking or being spoken to, whom the Act calls the principal parties. Someone who was only listening, with permission, doesn’t count. 1
s 4 Who is a party and a principal party Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
party— (a) to an activity—means a person who takes part in the activity, and (b) to a private conversation—means a person by or to whom words are spoken in the due course of the conversation or a person who, with the consent, express or implied, of any of the persons by or to whom words are spoken in the course of the conversation, records, monitors or listens to those words. […] principal party, in relation to a private conversation, means a person by or to whom words are spoken in the course of the conversation.
Can you record a conversation you’re not part of?
Usually not. This is the offence the Act is built around, and it carries up to 5 years in prison. 1
One thing changes that, and it comes from the definition of a party just quoted. Someone who records a conversation with a speaker’s consent counts as a party to it. So with that consent, this offence doesn’t apply to you. You stand where anyone else in the conversation stands: the recording can be for you, or it needs everyone’s agreement or a protective reason. Without a speaker’s consent, this is the offence you are looking at. 1
Most of the Act’s other exceptions only cover people doing a job. They reach police and Commonwealth officers working under a warrant or an emergency authorisation. They also reach officials with statutory functions, who have to record openly and identify themselves. Two aren’t limited that way, and neither helps someone setting out to listen in: hearing a private conversation by accident, and switching a device on only to find and retrieve it. 1
s 8A Official statutory-function exception Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
8A Exceptions to sections 7 and 8 (1) A person does not commit an offence against section 7 or 8 if— (a) the person knowingly uses a listening device or optical surveillance device (a relevant device), and (b) the use of the relevant device is authorised by another Act, and (c) the person is using the relevant device in the exercise of the person's functions under the other Act, and (d) the use of the relevant device by the person is overt, and (e) for a relevant device being used to record a private conversation—the person has provided evidence to each party to the private conversation that the person holds a position that exercises statutory functions. […] (2) Without limiting subsection (1)(d), the use of a relevant device by a person is overt if— (a) for a listening device—the person whose private conversation the listening device is being used to overhear, record, monitor or listen to has been informed the listening device is being used to overhear, record, monitor or listen to the person's conversation, or (b) for an optical surveillance device—the person who is being recorded visually or whose activities are being observed by the optical surveillance device has been informed the device is being used to record or observe the person or the person's activities.
Can you record a phone call in New South Wales?
Yes, on the same terms as any other conversation you are part of. Being on the call makes you part of the conversation. 1
There is one extra rule, and it is a Commonwealth one: intercepting a call while it is still crossing the network is an offence. 3
s 6(1) What the Commonwealth means by intercepting a call Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) 3
(1) For the purposes of this Act (other than Schedule 1), but subject to this section, interception of a communication passing over a telecommunications system consists of listening to or recording, by any means, such a communication in its passage over that telecommunications system without the knowledge of the person making the communication.
Timing separates the two. Once the call reaches your phone, recording it there is outside the Commonwealth ban. Catching it in transit is inside the ban, and carries up to 2 years in prison. 3
Can you share a recording in New South Wales?
The rule here is unusual, and worth reading twice. The publishing offence only reaches a conversation that came to you through a recording made in breach of the Act. 1
s 11(1)–(3) Publishing an unlawful recording is a separate offence Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
(1) A person must not publish, or communicate to any person, a private conversation or a record of the carrying on of an activity, or a report of a private conversation or carrying on of an activity, that has come to the person's knowledge as a direct or indirect result of the use of a listening device, an optical surveillance device or a tracking device in contravention of a provision of this Part. Maximum penalty—500 penalty units (in the case of a corporation) or 100 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment, or both (in any other case). (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the following— (a) if the communication or publication is made— (i) to a party to the private conversation or activity, or (ii) with the consent, express or implied, of all the principal parties to the private conversation or activity, or (iii) for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting an offence against this section, or (iv) in the course of proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations, (b) if the communication or publication is no more than is reasonably necessary in connection with an imminent threat of— (i) serious violence to persons or of substantial damage to property, or (ii) commission of a serious narcotics offence. (3) A person who obtains knowledge of a private conversation or activity in a manner that does not involve a contravention of a provision of this Part is not prevented from communicating or publishing the knowledge so obtained even if the same knowledge was also obtained in a manner that contravened this Part.
So a recording you were entitled to make as a participant sits outside it. The offence bites on recordings that were unlawful to begin with: a conversation you were never part of, or a participant recording made with no protective reason and meant for an outside audience. Publishing one of those carries the same 5-year maximum. 1
Even for an unlawful recording there are ways through. You can give the conversation to someone who was in it, or publish it with the consent of everyone who spoke. It can be used in an investigation or in court. And you can pass it on where doing so is no more than reasonably necessary because of an imminent threat of serious violence, substantial damage to property, or a serious drug offence. 1
If the same conversation reached you some other way, by a route that broke no rules, you are free to pass on what you learned that way. That holds even if someone else also captured it unlawfully. 1
A 2026 amendment added more ways through. 1
s 14A The 2026 exceptions to the publishing offence Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
(1) A person does not commit an offence against section 11 or 14 if the person— (a) communicates or publishes a surveillance device record to a law enforcement agency in the public interest, or (b) communicates or publishes a surveillance device record to a law enforcement agency in accordance with section 12(1)(b), or (c) communicates or publishes a surveillance device record that has previously been communicated or published to the public, including by— (i) broadcast on radio or television, and (ii) dissemination by other electronic means, including the internet and social media. (2) In this section— public interest includes the communication or publication of surveillance device records to a law enforcement agency if the records are relevant to the law enforcement agency's functions under— (a) a law of this State, or (b) a law of the Commonwealth.
Handing a recording to police in the public interest is not an offence. Nor is republishing something already broadcast or posted publicly. That last one matters online: once material is genuinely public, passing it on again falls outside the offence. 1
What if you are only holding an unlawful recording?
Possession is its own offence in New South Wales, added by the same 2026 amendment. It covers two situations. You made the unlawful recording. Or you know someone else made it and you don’t promptly hand it to a law enforcement agency — which is a duty to act, not only something you must not do. 1
s 12 Possessing an unlawful recording Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) 1
(1) A person must not possess a record of a private conversation or the carrying on of an activity if the person— (a) recorded, or caused to be recorded, the private conversation or carrying on of the activity in contravention of this part, or (b) knows the record was made through the use of a surveillance device in contravention of this part and fails to promptly give the record to a law enforcement agency. Maximum penalty— (a) for an individual—100 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both, or (b) otherwise—500 penalty units. […]
You have a recording in New South Wales. What now?
Was it lawful to make? If you were in the conversation, yes, provided the recording was for you, or everyone who spoke agreed, or it was reasonably necessary to protect your own interests. If you were not in the conversation and no speaker consented to you recording, it was an offence from the moment you pressed record. 1
Everything else follows from that. A lawful participant recording is yours to keep and yours to pass on. An unlawful one carries the recording offence, and brings the publishing and possession offences with it. 1
Passing it on. The publishing offence only applies to a conversation that came from an unlawful recording. Even then there are ways through. You can give it to someone who was in the conversation, or publish it with everyone’s consent. You can use it in an investigation or in court, or hand it to police in the public interest. You can also raise it where an imminent serious threat makes that necessary. 1
The figures. Recording, publishing and possession each carry up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $11,000, or both, for an individual. A company faces up to $55,000. Those are 100 and 500 penalty units at the NSW value of $110 a unit. 2
What it costs to get it wrong
| Offence | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Recording a private conversation (s 7) | $11,000 or 5 years' prison (individual); $55,000 (company) | 2 |
| Publishing a conversation from an unlawful recording (s 11) | $11,000 or 5 years' prison (individual); $55,000 (company) | 2 |
| Possessing an unlawful recording (s 12) | $11,000 or 5 years' prison (individual); $55,000 (company) | 2 |
Common questions
Is it legal to record a conversation without consent in NSW?
Yes, if you're in it and you're not recording it to pass on to outsiders. As a participant you can record a private conversation for your own use, or where it's reasonably needed to protect your lawful interests. Recording it to leak to outsiders is not covered. 1
Can you record a phone call in NSW?
Yes, if you're on the call and it's for your own use. Being on it makes you part of the conversation. Intercepting someone's call while it's still crossing the network is a separate Commonwealth offence. 3
Is it illegal to record someone without them knowing in NSW?
Only if you're recording it to pass on to outsiders, or you're not part of the conversation at all. Recording a conversation you're not in carries up to 5 years in prison — unless one of the speakers agreed to you recording, which makes you a party to it. 1
Can I share a recording of a conversation in NSW?
Yes, if you made the recording lawfully. NSW's publishing offence only catches a conversation that came from an unlawful recording, so a recording you were entitled to make as a participant isn't caught by that section. Publishing an unlawfully made one is the offence. 1
What is the penalty for illegally recording someone in NSW?
Up to 5 years in prison, or a fine of up to $11,000, or both, for an individual. A company faces up to $55,000. Those are 100 and 500 penalty units at the NSW value of $110 a unit. 2
Every source on this page
The small numbered marks throughout this page point to this list — 1 means source 1 below.
- Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW), ss 4, 7, 8A, 11, 12, 14A
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), s 17 (penalty unit = $110)
- Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth), ss 5F, 6, 7, 105
Sourced from the New South Wales Legislation website at 8 Sept 2026. For the latest information on New South Wales Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au. © State of New South Wales. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Reproduced without changes. This is not an official version. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 8 Sept 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Reproduced without changes. This is not an official version. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
Other rules for New South Wales
- Are e-bikes legal in NSW? Legal, with conditions
- Are e-scooters legal in NSW? Illegal
- How high can a fence be in NSW? Legal, with conditions
- What are the pool fence rules in NSW? Legal, with conditions
Recording conversations rules elsewhere
- Australian Capital Territory Legal, with conditions
- Northern Territory Legal, with conditions
- Queensland Legal, with conditions
- South Australia Legal, with conditions
- Tasmania Legal, with conditions
- Victoria Legal, with conditions
- Western Australia Legal, with conditions
Page history
Every change to this page
- 23 Sept 2026
- First published. Current to the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) No 64, version in force 14 August 2026, and to the NSW penalty unit value of $110 (Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) s 17).