You can film your own property in Queensland. The limits are around private spaces, audio, workplaces and shared property. This is a plain English summary, not legal advice.
This guide is general information about Queensland law as we understand it. It is not legal advice. If you have a specific situation, talk to a lawyer or the relevant government body.
There is no Queensland law that stops you putting security cameras on your own home and recording what happens on your property. Cameras covering your driveway, doors and yard are normal and lawful.
Cameras will often catch some of the street or part of a neighbour’s property along the way. That is generally fine when it is incidental to covering your own property. Where it becomes a problem is a camera deliberately aimed into somewhere private.
The Queensland Criminal Code makes it an offence to observe or visually record a person in a private place, or doing a private act, without their consent, in circumstances where they would reasonably expect privacy. Bathrooms, bedrooms and changing areas are the obvious examples. A camera aimed through a neighbour’s bathroom window would be a serious problem, no matter what the owner says it is for.
When we install, we aim cameras at your property and use privacy masks to black out neighbours’ windows where needed.
Sound is treated differently from video. Under Queensland’s Invasion of Privacy Act 1971, it is an offence to use a listening device to record a private conversation that you are not a party to. Many modern cameras have microphones, so a camera recording sound in your driveway could pick up a private conversation between two passers-by.
The simple way to stay clear is to leave audio recording off on outdoor cameras. Using the camera’s speaker to talk or play a warning is a different thing and is fine.
Queensland does not have a specific workplace surveillance law like New South Wales or the ACT. That does not mean anything goes. The Criminal Code and the Invasion of Privacy Act still apply, so no cameras in toilets or change rooms and no recording of private conversations. Good practice is to tell staff in writing which areas are covered and why, and to put signs at entrances.
Businesses with annual turnover above $3 million, and some smaller ones such as health service providers, also have to follow the Australian Privacy Principles under the federal Privacy Act. That affects how footage of people is collected, stored, used and disclosed.
Tenants need the owner’s consent before fixing anything to a rental, including cameras. Queensland’s rental rules changed in 2023 to let tenants request some minor modifications, which owners can only refuse on set grounds. A landlord must not install cameras that record inside a tenanted home.
In a body corporate scheme, common property belongs to the body corporate, so cameras on common property need the committee’s approval, and by-laws may limit changes to the outside of a lot.
The Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland, the Residential Tenancies Authority and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner all publish guidance. For anything specific, a lawyer is the right person to ask.
A camera that incidentally catches part of your yard while covering their own property is generally lawful. A camera deliberately aimed into a private area, like a bathroom window, is not. Talk to them first, then the police or a lawyer if needed.
There is no legal requirement for a sign on a private home in Queensland. Some people use one as a deterrent.
Yes. Police can ask for footage when investigating, and you can offer it. Export the clip with the original date and time, and keep a copy.
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