That gap matters in Australia, where brokers, advisers, lawyers and allied health practices still do much of their client work by phone. This guide covers the four approaches that work on a phone call, the recording-consent rules that decide which of them you can lawfully use, and which one fits which situation. We make CallNote, which sits in the fourth group. We have said plainly where another approach is the better pick.
Why most AI note takers miss phone calls
A meeting bot works by joining a Zoom, Teams or Meet link as a participant. A phone call has no link to join. Desktop tools that listen to your computer's audio can hear a softphone call running on that computer, but they cannot hear the mobile in your hand. So the question to ask of any tool is simple: how does the audio of my phone call physically reach it? There are only four honest answers.
- The phone system itself transcribes the call.
- A physical recorder or a recording app captures the handset.
- A desktop or mobile app listens to the device's audio.
- Nothing new listens. A transcript or a dictated memo that already exists is turned into the note.
Recording consent in Australia: check this first
Every option that records or transcribes a call is affected by two layers of law. This is general information, not legal advice.
Federal. The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 prohibits intercepting a communication passing over a telecommunications system. Interception means listening to or recording the communication in its passage without the knowledge of the person making it. In practice, a call that is recorded or transcribed in the network or by the phone system, with the other person unaware, is the high-risk case. Telling the caller at the start deals with it.
State and territory. Recording a private conversation with a device, including an app or a gadget attached to the handset, falls under each state's listening or surveillance devices Act.
| State / territory | Law | Position for a party recording their own call |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) | All parties must consent, with narrow exceptions |
| WA | Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) | All parties must consent, with narrow exceptions |
| SA | Surveillance Devices Act 2016 (SA) | All parties must consent, with narrow exceptions |
| Tasmania | Listening Devices Act 1991 (Tas) | All parties must consent, with narrow exceptions |
| ACT | Listening Devices Act 1992 (ACT) | All parties must consent, with narrow exceptions |
| Victoria | Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) | A party may record. Sharing or publishing the recording is restricted |
| Queensland | Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld) | A party may record. Sharing or publishing the recording is restricted |
| NT | Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NT) | A party may record. Sharing or publishing the recording is restricted |
Two practical points follow. First, you often do not know which state the other person is in, so work to the all-party standard on every call. Second, consent is cheap. One sentence at the start of the call, and a line in the note recording that the client agreed, covers you everywhere. Our full guide on whether it is legal to record phone calls in Australia has the detail and sample wording.
Option 1: phone systems with built-in transcription
If your business number runs on a VoIP system, this is the cleanest route. The call is transcribed where it already lives, on desk phone, laptop and mobile app alike, and nothing extra needs installing.
- Dialpad. Its site says it provides real-time transcription for calls and meetings, with a recap after the call that brings together the transcript, recording and action items, across Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. API access for sending transcripts to other tools needs a Pro or Enterprise plan.
- Aircall. Transcripts and summaries come from its AI Assist add-on, which covers call summaries, key topics and action items. AI Assist Pro adds live transcription and custom summaries. Aircall plans have a three-seat minimum, so it suits teams more than sole operators. Prices were not displayed on its pricing page when we checked.
- Microsoft Teams Phone. Microsoft's documentation says an admin can allow transcription and recording of 1:1 and PSTN calls through the Teams calling policy. A Copilot recap of a phone call needs the add-on Copilot licence, a Teams Phone licence and a calling plan, and the call must be transcribed or recorded to get the recap afterwards.
- Zoom Phone. Zoom's call summary feature transcribes the call and produces a summary with next steps. Zoom's support page says participants hear a disclaimer and see an indicator when it starts, which helps with consent. It is available on Zoom Phone and paid Zoom Workplace accounts with the feature switched on.
The limit of this route is the output. These systems produce a transcript and a general summary. For a sales team that is enough. For a broker, adviser or solicitor, a summary is not a file note in your firm's format, and it usually stays inside the phone system instead of the client file.
Option 2: hardware and app recorders
Plaud is the best known. The Plaud Note is a card-sized recorder that attaches to the back of your phone. Plaud says a vibration conduction sensor picks up the call from the phone's own speaker, and a switch changes between phone call and in-person modes. It is listed at US$159, with 300 transcription minutes a month included, a Pro plan with 1,200 minutes and an Unlimited plan. Plaud lists ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR and HIPAA compliance. Its product page did not state where data is hosted, so ask if Australian residency matters to you.
For mobile calls this is the only approach that reliably captures both sides, because iPhones in particular give third-party apps very little access to call audio. It also handles in-person meetings well. The trade-offs are plain. It is a recording device in every sense, so the consent rules above apply in full. The audio and transcript sit in a consumer cloud account, which your licensee or firm may not accept for client conversations. And the output is a general summary that you still need to turn into a file note.
Option 3: bot-free desktop and mobile apps
**Granola** transcribes your device's audio without joining the call as a bot. Its site lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and describes its mobile app as covering notes on the go and phone calls. It has a free tier, with an upgrade needed to work with notes older than 30 days.
**Jamie** also runs on your device with no bot. Its site says it captures online meetings on any platform and in-person meetings from a laptop or phone, deletes audio after transcription, keeps storage and processing within the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and is ISO 27001 certified.
Both are well made, and both suit softphone calls on your computer. For a call on a separate mobile handset, a device-audio app only hears what reaches its microphone, which in practice means putting the call on speaker. Both are general note takers hosted outside Australia, and they are still capturing the conversation, so consent applies. Our piece on AI note takers that do not record explains what "no recording" does and does not mean.
Option 4: transcript-to-note tools
This is where CallNote sits. It does not record calls, join them or store call audio. It receives a transcript that already exists and turns it into a structured file note in your firm's own format in about two minutes. With Dialpad or Aircall connected, each call transcript arrives automatically and the note is waiting when you hang up. Transcripts from Teams or Zoom can be uploaded as .vtt or .txt files, pasted, or forwarded by email. For a mobile call with no transcript, you dictate a voice memo straight afterwards and that becomes the note.
You paste one of your past notes and it builds a template with your headings and shorthand. You review each note, then publish it it: sealed with a SHA-256 checksum, immutable, with append-only amendments and an audit log. Data is hosted in Sydney and not used to train AI. It costs $149 a month solo or $99 per seat for teams, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
Be clear on what it does not solve. It is not a recorder, so on its own it cannot capture a mobile call. If your phone system transcribes calls, that transcription still needs the caller's consent. CallNote does not change that. It also costs more than a general note taker, because the job is the compliant record, not the summary. If all you need is a rough recap of sales calls, Option 1 alone will do.
Here is the kind of note it produces from a broker's phone call. The client is fictional.
- Why she called
Priya wants to refinance her home loan.
- Her current loan
Variable rate of 6.44% on the home she lives in, principal and interest. About $512,000 owing, and the property is worth an estimated $790,000. That is a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of about 65%.
- What she wants
- A lower rate.
- Keep her offset account.
- No longer loan term.
- Her situation
- Salaried and full time, with the same employer for 4 years.
- Her partner is on parental leave until February, then going back 3 days a week.
- One dependant.
- Asked about other debts: a car loan of $14,000 and 2 credit cards with limits of $8,000 and $5,000. She is open to closing one card.
- Advice given
Whether she can afford the new loan will be assessed on the reduced household income until her partner's return to work is confirmed. No product recommended on this call.
- Next steps
- Priya: send 2 payslips, her latest loan statement and her partner's return to work letter.
- Broker: check what she can borrow with 3 lenders.
- Follow-up call booked for 25 September.
The four approaches side by side
| Approach | Examples | Works on mobile calls | Records audio | What you get | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone system transcription | Dialpad, Aircall, Teams Phone, Zoom Phone | Yes, through the system's mobile app | Usually, depends on settings | Transcript and general summary | Only covers calls made through that system |
| Hardware recorder | Plaud Note | Yes, any call on the handset | Yes | Recording, transcript, general summary | Full recording-consent exposure, consumer cloud |
| Bot-free app | Granola, Jamie | Softphone calls yes, handset calls on speaker | Captures audio to transcribe, then deletes it | Transcript and general notes | Hosted offshore, general-purpose output |
| Meeting bot | Otter, Fireflies, Fathom | No, needs a meeting link | Yes | Meeting summary | Does not hear ordinary phone calls |
| Transcript to note | CallNote | With a connected phone system, or by voice memo after the call | No | File note in your format, sealed and locked | Needs a transcript or a dictated memo to exist |
Which approach for which situation
Your calls are on your personal or work mobile
You have three real choices. Move your business number to a VoIP system with a mobile app, so calls are transcribed by the system. This is the best long-term fix and gives you a business number that is not tied to one handset. Or use a Plaud-style recorder, with consent on every call and your firm's approval for where the data sits. Or record nothing, and dictate a two-minute voice memo straight after each call while it is fresh. The memo route has no consent issue, because you are the only person on it.
Your calls run through a VoIP system
Turn on the system's own transcription and add the consent line to your call opening or your recorded greeting. If a general summary is all you need, stop there. If you need a proper file note, connect the system to a transcript-to-note tool. Our setup guides for Dialpad and Aircall take about ten minutes each. For Teams Phone or Zoom Phone, download the transcript and upload it, or use Zapier if you want it automated.
The conversation is in person
A hardware recorder or a bot-free app on your laptop will capture the room. The same state Acts apply to a private conversation in person as on the phone, so ask first. If the client would rather not be recorded, which is common in family law, financial hardship and health settings, take brief handwritten points and dictate a voice memo afterwards. A dictated note written the same day is a sound contemporaneous record.
You are a regulated professional
For brokers, advisers and lawyers the note is evidence, so the capture method is only half the decision. Check where the data is hosted, whether the final note can be edited without trace, and whether the output matches what your regulator or licensee expects. Our file note audit readiness checker is a quick way to test your current notes, and meeting bots vs transcript-only tools goes deeper on the trade-off.
Common questions
What is the best AI note taker for phone calls in Australia?
If your calls run through a VoIP phone system such as Dialpad, Aircall, Microsoft Teams Phone or Zoom Phone, the transcription built into that system is the best starting point. For calls on a mobile handset, a hardware recorder such as Plaud captures both sides, with consent. If you need a formal file note instead of a general summary, a transcript-to-note tool such as CallNote turns the transcript or a dictated memo into a note in your own format.
Can Otter, Fireflies or Fathom record a normal phone call?
Not an ordinary phone call. These tools are built to join or capture video meetings on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. A standard mobile or landline call has no meeting link for a bot to join. They are good tools for video meetings, but phone-heavy businesses need one of the phone-specific approaches.
Is it legal to use an AI note taker on a phone call in Australia?
Yes, if you handle consent properly. NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT require all parties to consent to recording a private conversation. Victoria, Queensland and the NT allow a party to the call to record it, with limits on sharing the recording. The federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 also prohibits intercepting a call without the knowledge of the person speaking. Telling the other person at the start and noting their agreement is the safe practice in every state. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can an app record phone calls on an iPhone?
Third-party apps have very limited access to call audio on an iPhone, which is why hardware recorders such as the Plaud Note exist. Plaud attaches to the back of the phone and picks up the call through the phone's speaker vibrations. The other reliable route is to make business calls through a VoIP system's mobile app, where the system itself does the transcription.
Do I need consent if the tool only transcribes and does not keep the audio?
Treat it the same way. Transcribing a call still involves a device or system listening to a private conversation, and the federal interception rules turn on whether the other person knows. Deleting the audio afterwards is good data practice, but it does not remove the need to tell the caller. The only approach with no consent question is one where nothing listens to the call, such as dictating a voice memo afterwards.
How do I get a file note from a call if I do not want to record it?
Dictate a voice memo as soon as the call ends, covering who called, what they wanted, what you told them and what happens next. A tool such as CallNote turns that memo into a structured note in your usual format, which you review and lock. A note made straight after the call is a contemporaneous record, and no recording of the client ever exists.