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Recording Phone Calls in New South Wales

By Recording Law Editorial Team8 min read
Recording Phone Calls in New South Wales

Recording your own phone call in New South Wales is usually governed by state law, not the federal wiretap offence. The Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) prohibits recording a call you are part of by default, but a broad exception excuses most personal recording that is never shared with anyone outside the call.

Information last verified on 22 July 2026 against the consolidated Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) and Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) text. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses recording a phone call under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) and the federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth). It does not address the phone-call recording rules of other Australian states or territories; for a national comparison, see can you record a phone call in Australia.

Does Federal Law Stop You Recording Your Own Call?

Usually not, and this is the point most people get wrong first. The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) makes it an offence to intercept a communication passing over a telecommunications system (s 7(1)). Section 6(1) defines interception as listening to or recording a communication "in its passage over that telecommunications system without the knowledge of the person making the communication." A person who is a party to their own call has knowledge of it by definition, and recording at the handset happens at the point of receipt, not in transit over the network. The federal offence is aimed at a third party tapping the line, not a participant recording their own end of the conversation. That means the question of whether you can record your own call in NSW turns on state law, covered below, not this federal Act.

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The NSW Rule for Recording Your Own Call

The Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) s 7(1)(b) prohibits knowingly recording a private conversation you are a party to, without consent. On its face that would prohibit most personal call recording. Section 7(3)(b) then supplies the exception that does most of the practical work: the prohibition does not apply if all principal parties consent, or a principal party consents and the recording either protects that party's lawful interests, or is not made for the purpose of communicating or publishing it to people who were not part of the call. That third, independent basis, s 7(3)(b)(ii), is what usually covers recording a call for your own reference, such as keeping a record of a customer service dispute or a difficult family conversation, where you never intend to share it with anyone who was not on the line.

Recording a Call You're Not Part Of

A different and more exposed situation arises where you record a call between other people, without being a party to it yourself, for example recording a call on speakerphone in another room. Section 7(1)(a) prohibits that outright without the consent of every party, and the personal-use limb in s 7(3)(b)(ii) is not available, since that limb only modifies the prohibition on recording a call you are a party to under s 7(1)(b).

Sharing or Publishing a Recorded Call Is a Separate Risk

Even a call recording made entirely lawfully under s 7(3) can create fresh exposure the moment it is shared. Section 11 separately prohibits publishing or communicating a private conversation obtained in contravention of the Act's provisions, and its own exceptions at s 11(2) do not automatically extend to every lawful recording. In practice, this is the most useful thing to understand about NSW phone-call recording: making the recording and sharing it afterward are assessed separately, and a recording that was fine to make can still create liability once it leaves the hands of the person who made it, for instance by posting it online, forwarding it by text, or playing it to a third party.

Could the Recording Be Used in Court?

Recording law and evidence law are separate questions. Section 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) gives a court discretion to admit evidence obtained improperly or in contravention of an Australian law where the desirability of admitting it outweighs the undesirability of how it was obtained, weighing factors including the evidence's probative value, the gravity of the impropriety, and whether it was deliberate. No recording can be described in advance as admissible; courts weigh admissibility under the s 138 discretion on the specific facts of each case.

Newer Overlays: The Federal Tort and Doxxing Offences

Publishing a recorded call, particularly one containing sensitive personal information, can also engage newer federal law layered on top of the state rules above. The statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) sch 2), in force since 10 June 2025, is a civil action available without proof of damage for a serious, intentional or reckless invasion of privacy, and applies nationwide regardless of the state recording rule. Separately, publishing personal information via a carriage service in a way reasonable people would regard as menacing or harassing has been a federal criminal offence since 11 December 2024. Neither of these overlays changes the underlying NSW recording rule; they sit on top of it where a call recording is shared in a harmful way.

This article provides general legal information about phone-call recording law in New South Wales. It is not legal advice and does not take into account your specific circumstances. For advice about a particular recording, consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to record my own phone call in NSW?

Recording is prohibited by default under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) s 7(1)(b), but is commonly excused under s 7(3)(b), including where the recording is not made to share with anyone who was not on the call. This is general information about the statute, not an assessment of whether a specific recording is lawful.

Does federal law stop me recording my own phone call in NSW?

Generally no. The federal interception offence in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) s 7 targets recording a call in transit over the network without the knowledge of the person making it, not a participant recording their own call at the handset.

Can I record a call with a business or a customer service line in NSW?

That is assessed under the same Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) s 7(3) exceptions available for any call you are part of. Whether a specific recording qualifies depends on its purpose and whether it is shared.

Is it legal to record a phone call between two other people in NSW if I'm not on the call?

This is treated more strictly under s 7(1)(a), and the personal-use exception available to a participant does not apply, because that limb only modifies recording a call you are a party to.

Can I share a phone call recording I lawfully made in NSW?

Not automatically. Publishing or communicating a recorded call is a separate offence under s 11 of the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW), with its own limited exceptions, distinct from the rules that govern making the recording.

Will a secretly recorded phone call be allowed as evidence in an NSW court?

No recording can be guaranteed admissible in advance. Courts weigh admissibility of improperly obtained evidence under the discretion in s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), considering factors including the gravity of any impropriety.

Sources and References

  1. Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) s 7, listening devices offence and personal-use exception(austlii.edu.au)
  2. Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) s 11, publication offence(austlii.edu.au)
  3. Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) s 6(1), definition of interception(austlii.edu.au)
  4. Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) s 7, telecommunications not to be intercepted(austlii.edu.au)
  5. Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) s 138, discretion to exclude improperly obtained evidence(legislation.nsw.gov.au).gov
  6. OAIC: statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) sch 2(oaic.gov.au).gov
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