Broker guide
Is It Illegal to Record a Conversation in Australia?
Recording laws differ by state, and some need every party’s consent. See the rule in each state and what a broker must say before recording a client call.
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It depends: recording a conversation in Australia can be illegal, depending on the state or territory, your role in the conversation and consent. For client calls, ask every participant to agree before recording and explain any AI transcription.
Being allowed to make a recording doesn’t automatically let you share it with colleagues or send it to an AI service. A brokerage needs a process for both recording and later use.
Is It Legal to Record a Conversation?
You can generally record your own private conversation without the other participants’ consent under the listening-device laws in Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory. The other jurisdictions prohibit participant recording unless consent or another exception applies.
The state table below concerns private conversations, including ordinary confidential client discussions. A person speaking or being spoken to is a participant. Several Acts call these people the conversation’s “principal parties”.
Some laws permit recording to protect a participant’s lawful interests. New South Wales, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory also have exceptions for recordings made without a purpose of communicating them to outsiders. Those exceptions have conditions and aren’t a general permission to record client meetings secretly.
For a brokerage, adopt express agreement from everyone as the operating rule, even where a state law allows participant recording. If people join from different states, obtain agreement from all of them and have your recording process assessed for those jurisdictions.
If you have a dispute about a secret recording or want to rely on an exception, ask a lawyer to assess the facts before using it. Recording, sharing and admitting evidence in court are separate questions.
Recording Laws by State
State and territory listening-device laws distinguish recording your own conversation from recording other people’s conversations. This table summarises participant recording for ordinary private conversations, subject to the statutory exceptions.
| State or territory | Rule when you participate | Act and section |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales (NSW) | Obtain all principal parties’ consent, unless an exception applies. Section 7(3)(b) covers protection of lawful interests or recording without a purpose of communicating it to outsiders. | Surveillance Devices Act 2007, s 7 |
| Victoria | Section 6 doesn’t prohibit you from recording a private conversation you’re part of. Sharing the record is separately restricted under s 11. | Surveillance Devices Act 1999, ss 6 and 11 |
| Queensland | A participant can record under s 43(2)(a). Section 45 separately restricts communicating or publishing the record. | Invasion of Privacy Act 1971, ss 43 and 45 |
| Western Australia | Obtain every principal party’s express or implied consent, unless an exception applies. Section 5(3)(d) covers recording reasonably necessary to protect a consenting principal party’s lawful interests. | Surveillance Devices Act 1998, s 5 |
| South Australia | All principal parties’ consent permits participant recording. Section 4 also permits recording reasonably necessary to protect the recorder’s lawful interests. Other statutory exceptions apply. | Surveillance Devices Act 2016, s 4 |
| Tasmania | All principal parties’ consent permits participant recording. Section 5(3)(b) also covers protection of lawful interests or recording without a purpose of communicating it to outsiders. | Listening Devices Act 1991, s 5 |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | Obtain each principal party’s consent, unless an exception applies. Section 4(3)(b) covers reasonably believed necessity to protect lawful interests or recording without a purpose of communicating it to outsiders. | Listening Devices Act 1992, s 4 |
| Northern Territory (NT) | Section 11 doesn’t prohibit participant recording. It prohibits recording a private conversation you’re outside without every party’s express or implied consent, subject to exceptions. | Surveillance Devices Act 2007, s 11 |
This isn’t a complete list of exceptions, such as warrants and emergency powers. A client fact-find process needs consent and privacy controls suited to its actual use, including transcription and access by staff.
Phone Call Recording
Phone call recording can engage federal telecommunications law as well as state listening-device law. Sections 6 and 7 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 define and generally prohibit interception.
Interception includes recording a communication while it passes over a telecommunications system without the knowledge of the person making it. The federal test uses knowledge. State consent requirements remain a separate issue.
How the recording happens matters. Queensland’s Office of the Information Commissioner explains that recording sound from a speakerphone isn’t telephone interception. That doesn’t remove the relevant state recording and disclosure rules.
For a business phone system, tell callers about recording before it begins and obtain their agreement. Have the provider explain where its system captures audio so your legal review covers the actual recording method.
Recording Meetings With an AI Note Taker
An AI note taker adds processing of the conversation, such as transcription or summarisation, to the recording question. A bot’s visible name or meeting notification doesn’t establish that every attendee understands what happens to their information.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) discusses meeting transcription in its guidance on commercially available AI products. Awareness and consent affect whether collection is lawful and fair. Collecting sensitive information through AI generally requires consent where the Australian Privacy Principles apply, subject to exceptions.
Before admitting the bot, explain the purpose and who processes the audio. Explain who can access the recording and transcript, including any external service, and how long the brokerage keeps them.
For example, a broker can ask this before starting a fact-find recording:
“I’d like to record this meeting and use our approved AI transcription service to prepare your file notes. Our authorised team can access the recording and transcript under our retention policy. Is everyone comfortable with that, or would you prefer I take notes manually?”
Give clients the actual service and retention details before they agree. Obtain agreement from each participant, then start recording and confirm that agreement on the record. Pause for late arrivals and explain the same arrangement before they contribute.
If someone declines, leave the bot out and take manual notes. Review the transcript against the conversation before using it in the client file.
Business Call Recording Rules
A brokerage needs a repeatable process that covers permission, restricted use and eventual deletion. Use these steps before recording client calls or meetings.
- Set the purpose and approved system. Decide whether you need audio, a transcript or both, and assess where the provider stores and processes the information.
- Tell every participant before recording starts. Explain the purpose, AI processing and access arrangements, with a manual-note option if they decline.
- Obtain and document agreement. Keep a file note of each person’s response, then confirm consent after the recording starts. Ask new participants before continuing.
- Restrict access and check the output. Store recordings in the approved client-record system, limit access to authorised staff and correct transcription errors before relying on the notes.
- Apply the retention policy. Set review and deletion rules for the audio and transcript separately, accounting for legal retention duties and any complaint or litigation hold.
If the Privacy Act covers your brokerage, Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires reasonable security steps. It also requires reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information that’s no longer needed for a permitted purpose, unless an exception applies.
The OAIC’s APP 11 guidance explains the retention exceptions, including legal or court-ordered retention. Your policy must cover copies held by service providers and backups too.
Before using the process with clients, run a test meeting with consenting staff. Confirm the consent record is saved, access is restricted and the provider’s deletion settings match your written policy.
