Is it legal to record a phone call in South Australia?

This page goes through the South Australian Act section by section and what it means if you record calls for work. It is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and penalties are as they appear in the current version of the Act on the South Australian legislation website in October 2026 (version 21.9.2023). For every state and territory, see our national guide, is it legal to record a phone call in Australia.

Can you record a conversation in South Australia?

Section 4(1) is the starting point. A person must not knowingly install, use or cause to be used, or maintain, a listening device:

• to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a private conversation to which the person is not a party (section 4(1)(a)); or
• to record a private conversation to which the person is a party (section 4(1)(b)).

So being on the call is not enough. The maximum penalty stated in section 4(1) is $15,000 or imprisonment for 3 years for a natural person, and $75,000 for a body corporate.

What counts as a private conversation

Section 3 defines a private conversation as one carried on in circumstances that may reasonably be taken to indicate that at least 1 party wants it to be heard only by the other parties. The definition excludes a conversation made in circumstances in which all parties ought reasonably to expect that it may be heard by someone who is not a party. Read the two halves together: one person's wish for privacy is enough to bring a conversation in, and it takes a reasonable expectation on the part of all of them to take it out.

A listening device is defined in section 3 as a device capable of being used to listen to or record a private conversation, together with any associated equipment. Devices used to assist a person with impaired hearing are excluded. A principal party is a person by or to whom words are spoken in the course of the conversation.

Can you record a conversation without consent in South Australia?

The state Act gives a party to a conversation three main grounds for recording it. Only the first involves the other person agreeing.

1. All principal parties consent

Section 4(2)(a)(i) exempts the use of a listening device by a party to record the conversation if all principal parties consent, expressly or impliedly, to the device being so used. For a client call this is the ground to use. It means everyone who speaks or is spoken to, so on a call with a couple you need both.

2. Protecting your lawful interests

Section 4(2)(a)(ii) exempts a party who records where the use of the device is reasonably necessary for the protection of the lawful interests of that person. No one else's consent is required under this paragraph. Section 3 does not define "lawful interests", and whether a recording was "reasonably necessary" is decided on the facts. It is a ground for a person with a real dispute or threat to deal with. It is not a general permission to record because a record would be handy.

3. The public interest

Section 6(1)(a) says section 4 does not apply to the use of a listening device to overhear, record, monitor or listen to a private conversation if the use of the device is in the public interest. Section 3 does not define "public interest" either. As set out below, a recording made on this ground can be passed on only in very limited ways.

Section 4(2) contains further exemptions that will not concern most readers, including use authorised under another Act or a Commonwealth law such as the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (section 4(2)(b)(i) and (ii)), use by licensed investigation agents and loss adjusters in the course of their functions where reasonably necessary to protect a person's lawful interests (section 4(2)(b)(iv) and (v)), and the unintentional hearing of a private conversation (section 4(2)(f)).

Using or sharing a recording: three different rules

This is where the South Australian Act differs most from the older Acts in other states. Part 2 Division 2 sets a separate rule for each way a recording came to exist. All three reach beyond publishing: they restrict a person who knowingly "uses" the material as well as one who communicates or publishes it.

Recordings made to protect lawful interests (section 9)

Under section 9(1), a person must not knowingly use, communicate or publish information or material derived from a listening device that was used to protect that person's lawful interests, except:

• to a person who was a party to the conversation (section 9(1)(a));
• with the consent of each party to the conversation (section 9(1)(b));
• to an officer of an investigating agency for the purposes of a relevant investigation or relevant action or proceeding (section 9(1)(c));
• in the course, or for the purposes, of a relevant action or proceedings (section 9(1)(d));
• in relation to a situation where a person is being subjected to violence or there is an imminent threat of violence to a person (section 9(1)(e));
• to a media organisation (section 9(1)(f));
• in accordance with an order of a judge (section 9(1)(g));
• otherwise in the course of duty or as required or authorised by law (section 9(1)(h)).

The maximum penalty stated is $10,000 for a natural person and $50,000 for a body corporate. "Relevant action or proceeding" and "relevant investigation" are defined terms in section 3. The list for "relevant action or proceeding" is mostly prosecutions, bail, warrants, confiscation and police disciplinary matters, so check the definitions before relying on paragraphs (c) or (d).

Recordings made in the public interest (section 10)

Under section 10(1), material derived from a listening device used in the public interest must not be knowingly used, communicated or published except in accordance with an order of a judge. Section 10(2) carves out communication to a media organisation, and communication by a media organisation where the material is in the public interest. The maximum penalty stated is $10,000 for a natural person and $50,000 for a body corporate. Section 11 lets a person apply to a judge for an order, and the order can specify what may be used, how, and to whom it may be given.

Recordings made unlawfully (section 12)

Under section 12(1), a person must not knowingly use, communicate or publish information or material derived from the use of a surveillance device in contravention of Part 2, whether the device was used by that person or someone else. The maximum penalty stated is $15,000 or imprisonment for 3 years for a natural person, and $75,000 for a body corporate. Section 12(2) allows communication to a party to the conversation, with the consent of each party, for the purposes of investigating or prosecuting the contravention, in proceedings for an offence against the Act, or otherwise in the course of duty or as required by law.

South Australian law at a glance

Phone calls: the federal law that also applies

The South Australian Act regulates listening devices. Phone calls are also covered by the Commonwealth Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Section 7(1) of that Act says a person shall not intercept a communication passing over a telecommunications system. Section 6(1) defines interception as listening to or recording a communication in its passage over the system without the knowledge of the person making it. Under section 105, a contravention of section 7(1) is an indictable offence punishable by imprisonment for up to 2 years.

The practical point for South Australia is that the lawful interests and public interest exceptions are exceptions to the state Act. They are not written into the federal definition, which asks whether the communication was recorded in its passage over the system without the knowledge of the person making it. Anyone thinking of recording a phone call without telling the other person should get advice on both Acts first.

Interstate calls to and from South Australia

If you are in Adelaide, start with the South Australian Act. If you are in a one-party state such as Queensland or Victoria and your client is in South Australia, do not assume your own state's rule is the only one that matters. It is not settled which state's law governs a call that crosses a border, and the cautious reading is that the stricter rule could apply.

The other state pages set out the rule for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. The free Can I record this call? tool shows the rule and the Act for each state before you dial.

Recording calls for business or note-taking in South Australia

A firm that records client calls to write accurate file notes should plan on consent and nothing else. In practice:

1. Tell every person on the call it is being recorded before anything of substance is discussed.
2. Get a clear yes from each principal party. Implied consent exists in section 4(2)(a)(i), but a spoken yes is much easier to prove.
3. Say what the recording is for and who will have access to it.
4. Write the consent into the file note: who was asked, what each person said and the time.
5. If anyone declines, do not record. Take notes by hand and note that consent was declined.
6. Keep the recording and any transcript to the people who need them.

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) also applies to personal information held by organisations it covers, and an Australian financial services licensee, credit licensee or professional body may set a stricter recording policy of its own.

Consent wording you can use

More examples, including wording for recorded announcements and video meetings, are in call recording disclosure wording examples.

The example is fictional. Both clients are principal parties, so the note records an answer from each of them.

Where a transcript-based note tool fits

CallNote does not record calls, does not join meetings as a bot and does not store call audio. It takes a transcript that already exists, from Aircall, Dialpad or Microsoft Teams, or one you paste, upload or forward by email, and turns it into a file note in your firm's own format for you to review.

That does not remove the consent step. If your phone system or Teams records or transcribes the call, the South Australian Act applies to that, and you still need every principal party's agreement. What it means is that the note tool is not making a recording of its own. Where a client says no to recording, you can dictate a voice memo after the call and CallNote will draft the note from your recollection. See do AI note takers record your calls, AI note takers that do not record and the page for financial advisers.

Common questions