Is it legal to record a conversation in Queensland?
If you're part of the conversation, you can record it in Queensland without telling anyone. Recording a conversation you're not part of is an offence, and sharing a recording has its own separate rules.
- Recording a talk you're in
- Yes, with no conditions attached. A party to the conversation is exempt from the offence outright, so you can record without telling the others. Sharing it is a separate question 1
- Recording one you're not in
- An offence, unless someone in the conversation has agreed to you recording. That makes you a party, and Queensland leaves a party outside the ban entirely 1
- Sharing a recording
- Limited. Even a recording you were allowed to make can't be shared or published except in the situations s 45(2) lists — to another person who was in the conversation, with everyone else's consent, in legal proceedings, or where it's reasonably needed to protect you or the public 1
- Biggest penalty
- Up to $6,908 or 2 years in prison, both for recording a conversation you're not part of and for sharing a recording you shouldn't 1
- Phone calls
- A call you're on counts as a conversation you're part of, so you can record it. Tapping a call while it's still crossing the network is a separate Commonwealth offence 3
In Queensland you can record a conversation you’re part of, and you don’t have to tell anyone. No reason is required and no condition attaches. 1
The limits fall elsewhere. Recording a conversation you have no part in is an offence, and passing on a recording is governed by its own set of rules. 1
Can you record a conversation you’re part of in Queensland?
Yes, with nothing attached.
Recording a private conversation is an offence in Queensland, and the Act then exempts anyone who was taking part in the conversation. A private conversation is one the people having it clearly meant to keep to themselves; if you’d reasonably expect to be overheard, it isn’t private to start with. 1
s 43(1)–(2)(a) Recording is an offence, but a participant is exempt Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) 1
43 Prohibition on use of listening devices (1) A person is guilty of an offence against this Act if the person uses a listening device to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a private conversation and is liable on conviction on indictment to a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years. […] (2) Subsection (1) does not apply— (a) where the person using the listening device is a party to the private conversation; […]
The exemption is unconditional. Why you are recording forms no part of it, so you need not announce the recording and need not ask permission. 1
Can you record a conversation you’re not part of?
Not unless someone in the conversation agrees to it. That is what the offence is aimed at: switching on a recorder to capture other people’s private talk when you are not one of them. 1
The word “party” is what decides it, and Queensland defines it broadly. 1
s 42(2) Who counts as a party to the conversation Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) 1
(2) A reference in this part to a party to a private conversation is a reference— (a) to a person by or to whom words are spoken in the course of a private conversation; and (b) to 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 a private conversation, overhears, records, monitors or listens to those words.
You are a party if words are spoken by you or to you. You are also a party if you record the conversation with the consent of one of the people speaking. So a speaker’s agreement moves you inside the conversation, and the exemption for a participant then covers you outright. 1
Without that agreement, the offence applies, and it carries up to 2 years in prison. One more is open to anyone: unintentionally overhearing a private conversation by telephone. The rest are for people doing a job: police acting under other laws, and certain Commonwealth officers. 1
Can you record a phone call in Queensland?
Yes, if you are on the call. Being on it makes you one of the people talking. 1
Commonwealth law adds one more offence: intercepting a call while it is still crossing the network. 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 is the difference. Recording the call once it has reached your phone is outside the Commonwealth ban. Tapping the line while the call is still crossing the network is inside it, and carries up to 2 years in prison. 3
Can you share a recording in Queensland?
Limited, and the Act splits it in two — one rule for a recording you made as a participant, another for material from a recording that broke the law. 1
s 45(1)–(2) Sharing a recording you made is a separate offence Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) 1
45 Prohibition on communication or publication of private conversations by parties thereto (1) A person who, having been a party to a private conversation and having used a listening device to overhear, record, monitor or listen to that conversation, subsequently communicates or publishes to any other person any record of the conversation made, directly or indirectly, by the use of the listening device or any statement prepared from such a record is guilty of an offence against this Act and is liable on conviction on indictment to a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years. […] (2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the communication or publication— (a) is made to another party to the private conversation or with the consent, express or implied, of all other parties to the private conversation, being parties referred to in section 42(2)(a); or (b) is made in the course of legal proceedings; or (c) is not more than is reasonably necessary— (i) in the public interest; or (ii) in the performance of a duty of the person making the communication or publication; or (iii) for the protection of the lawful interests of that person; or (d) is made to a person who has, or is believed, on reasonable grounds, by the person making the communication or publication to have, such an interest in the private conversation as to make the communication or publication reasonable under the circumstances in which it is made; or (e) is made by a person who used the listening device to overhear, record, monitor, or listen to the private conversation under section 43(2)(c) or (d). […]
A recording you were entitled to make still can’t be published or handed around freely. You can give it to another party to the conversation, or share it with everyone’s consent. You can use it in legal proceedings. And you can share it where that goes no further than is reasonably necessary in the public interest, to carry out a duty, or to protect your own lawful interests. 1
s 44(1)–(2) Sharing material from an unlawful recording (s 44) Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) 1
44 Prohibition on communication or publication of private conversations unlawfully listened to (1) A person is guilty of an offence against this Act if the person communicates or publishes to any other person a private conversation, or a report of, or of the substance, meaning or purport of, a private conversation, that has come to his or her knowledge as a result, direct or indirect, of the use of a listening device used in contravention of section 43 and is liable on conviction on indictment to a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years. […] (2) Subsection (1) does not apply— (a) where the communication or publication of the private conversation is made— (i) to a party to the conversation or with the consent, express or implied, of such a party; or (ii) in the course of proceedings for an offence against this Act constituted by a contravention of, or a failure to comply with any provision of this part; or (b) to prevent a person who has obtained knowledge of a private conversation otherwise than in a manner referred to in that subsection from communicating or publishing to another person the knowledge so obtained by the person, notwithstanding that the person also obtained knowledge of the conversation in such a manner.
Material from an unlawful recording is treated separately, and more tightly. It can go to a party to the conversation, or to a person a party consents to, or be used in a prosecution under the Act itself. 1
Can a secret recording be used as evidence in Queensland?
Not if it broke section 43. Evidence of a conversation captured by an unlawful recording cannot be given in civil or criminal proceedings. 1
s 46(1)–(2)(a) An unlawful recording is barred as evidence Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) 1
(1) Where a private conversation has come to the knowledge of a person as a result, direct or indirect, of the use of a listening device used in contravention of section 43, evidence of that conversation may not be given by that person in any civil or criminal proceedings. (2) Subsection (1) does not render inadmissible— (a) evidence of a private conversation that has, in the manner referred to in that subsection, come to the knowledge of the person called to give the evidence, if a party to the conversation consents to that person giving the evidence; […]
The bar lifts if a party to the conversation consents to that evidence being given. So an unlawful recording is not simply inadmissible forever — it depends on who is willing to agree. 1
You have a recording in Queensland. What now?
Were you in the conversation, or did a speaker agree? Either one makes you a party, and making the recording was lawful. If neither is true, it was an offence from the moment you started. 1
Sharing is a separate question. Even a lawful recording can only be passed on in the situations the Act lists. 1
Who you can give it to. Another person who was in the conversation. Anyone, if everyone agrees. A court, in legal proceedings. Or wider, where that goes no further than the public interest, a duty, or protecting your lawful interests reasonably requires. 1
Using it as evidence. If the recording broke the Act, you can’t give evidence of the conversation unless a party to it consents. 1
The figures. Recording unlawfully, sharing unlawfully and publishing material from an unlawful recording each carry up to $6,908 or 2 years in prison. Those are 40 penalty units at the Queensland value of $172.70 a unit. 2
What it costs to get it wrong
Common questions
Is it legal to record a conversation without consent in Queensland?
Yes, if you're taking part in it. Queensland law lets someone in the conversation record it without telling the others. You can't record a conversation you're not part of, and you can't freely share what you record. 1
Can you record a phone call in Queensland?
Yes, if you're on the call. It counts as a conversation you're part of, so recording it is allowed. Intercepting someone else'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 Queensland?
Not if you're one of the people in the conversation. If you're not part of it, recording them secretly is an offence carrying up to 2 years in prison. 1
Can I use a secret recording as evidence in Queensland?
A conversation recorded in breach of the Act may not be given in evidence by the person who obtained it, unless one of the s 46(2) exceptions applies. A recording you made lawfully as a participant can be used in legal proceedings, which is one of the situations where sharing it is allowed. 1
Can you share a recording of a conversation in Queensland?
Only in the situations s 45(2) lists. You can give it to another person who was in the conversation. Otherwise a recording you were allowed to make can't be published or passed on unless every other person agrees, it's for a court, or it's reasonably needed to protect you or the public interest. 1
Every source on this page
The small numbered marks throughout this page point to this list — 1 means source 1 below.
- Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld), ss 4, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49A
- Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2025 (Qld), s 4, made under Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 ss 5(1)(e)(i), 5A (penalty unit = $172.70)
- Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth), ss 5F, 6, 7, 105
Sourced from the Queensland Legislation website at 7 Sept 2026. For the latest information on Queensland Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au © State of Queensland. 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 7 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 Queensland
- Are e-bikes legal in Queensland? Legal, with conditions
- Are e-scooters legal in Queensland? Legal, with conditions
- How high can a fence be in Queensland? Legal, with conditions
- What are the pool fence rules in Queensland? Legal, with conditions
Recording conversations rules elsewhere
- Australian Capital Territory Legal, with conditions
- New South Wales Legal, with conditions
- Northern Territory 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 Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) as in force 1 July 2024, and to the Queensland penalty unit value of $172.70 from 1 July 2026.