Recording Phone Calls in Western Australia: What the Law Requires

Recording your own phone call in Western Australia is governed by state law, not the federal wiretapping statute most people assume applies. Section 5 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) requires the consent of everyone on the call, or a narrow lawful-interests justification, before you can lawfully record a conversation you are part of.

Can You Record Your Own Phone Call in Western Australia?

Only with consent or a lawful-interests justification. Section 5(1)(b) of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) prohibits recording a private conversation you are a party to, and a phone call ordinarily meets the Act's definition of a private conversation. Unless every principal party consents, expressly or impliedly, the recording must be reasonably necessary to protect your own lawful interests under s.5(3)(d) to be lawful.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses phone call recording law in Western Australia under the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) and the federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth). It does not address the phone recording rules of other Australian states or territories; for a national comparison, see recording a phone call in Australia. For Western Australia's general recording rules, see Western Australia recording laws.

The Federal Layer: Why the TIA Act Usually Doesn't Apply to Your Own Call

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) makes it a serious federal offence to intercept a communication passing over a telecommunications system. Section 7 of that Act prohibits interception, defined around listening to or recording a communication in its passage over the system, without the knowledge of the person making it. A participant on a call has knowledge of their own communication, and recording at the handset happens at the point of receipt, not while the call is in transit across the network. It is generally the state Act, not the federal TIA Act, that governs whether you can record your own phone call. The federal Act becomes the operative framework where someone other than a party to the call taps the line itself, in transit over the network, a different and more serious kind of conduct addressed elsewhere in the TIA Act.

The State Layer: Section 5 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA)

Once the TIA Act is set aside, Western Australia's own Act governs. Section 5(1) prohibits both listening to a conversation you are not part of and recording one you are part of. For your own call, the exceptions in s.5(2) and s.5(3) apply: a device warrant, an emergency authorisation, or consent of every party, express or implied, or the lawful-interests exception in s.5(3)(d), which excuses a recording that is reasonably necessary to protect your own lawful interests.

The wording of s.5(3)(d) itself sets the standard: the recording must be "reasonably necessary" for the protection of the party's lawful interests, an objective test assessed on the facts as they exist at the time, not a subjective belief that recording was justified, and not judged with the benefit of hindsight. "Lawful interests" are interests not contrary to statute or general law, with their specific content depending on the facts of the case. A call recorded because of a genuine, objectively identifiable threat is more likely to satisfy the test than a call recorded as a general precaution "just in case."

Notifying the Other Person: What Counts as Consent

Consent under s.5(3) can be express or implied. Express consent means the other party clearly agrees, in words, to being recorded. Implied consent arises where a person was genuinely aware that recording was occurring and chose to continue the call regardless.

For personal calls: tell the other person plainly, at the start of the call, that you intend to record it, and get their agreement before you proceed. Continuing after being told is usually treated as implied consent, but a clear verbal confirmation is the safer practice given the criminal penalties involved.

For businesses recording customer calls: an automated message played before the customer discusses their matter, stating that the call is being recorded, is the standard approach. A customer who continues after hearing the notice generally provides implied consent. If a customer objects, the recording should stop.

Sharing a Recorded Call Is a Separate Offence

Making a lawful recording of a phone call does not automatically mean you can share it. Section 9 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) creates a separate offence for publishing or communicating a recorded conversation without the consent of every party, even where the underlying recording was lawfully made. The main exceptions permit sharing to a party to the call, to police or another authorised law enforcement body, in the course of the discloser's duty, or for the protection of the lawful interests of the person publishing it, among other narrow grounds. A person who lawfully records a threatening call under the lawful-interests exception and then forwards the audio to a friend or posts it online, without a basis under s.9, commits a fresh offence, carrying the same penalty as the underlying recording offence: a $5,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment, or both, for an individual, and $50,000 for a body corporate.

Publishing or Sharing Recorded Calls: The Doxxing Overlay

Since 11 December 2024, the Criminal Code (Cth) has included doxxing offences at sections 474.17C and 474.17D, targeting the use of a carriage service to publish someone's personal data in a way reasonable persons would regard as menacing or harassing. Where sharing a recorded call also involves publishing the other party's personal information in a menacing or harassing way, this federal offence can apply on top of Western Australia's own publication restriction under s.9.

Cross-Border and Interstate Calls

If you are calling someone interstate, your own conduct in Western Australia is still governed by Western Australian law, and the other party's conduct is governed by the law of wherever they are located. Because Western Australia has no personal-use exception, recording without the consent of everyone involved is likely unlawful at the Western Australian end of the call even if it would be lawful under a more permissive rule that applies to the other party's state. The federal TIA Act applies to telephone and internet communications regardless of where the parties are located, in addition to any applicable state law.

Disclaimer: This article presents general legal information about phone call recording law in Western Australia. It does not constitute legal advice. The information covers the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) as in force as of 2026-07-22. Laws can change. If you have a specific legal situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in Western Australia or the relevant Australian state or territory.

For Western Australia's general consent rules, see Western Australia recording laws. For recording conversations at work in Western Australia, see workplace recording in Western Australia. For security cameras and CCTV in Western Australia, see security camera laws in Western Australia. For the national picture on phone recording, see recording a phone call in Australia.

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Last updated: 2026-07-22. Statutes cited reflect their in-force versions as of 2026-07-22.