New law shields those who hand unlawful recordings to authorities
New South Wales has enshrined legal protections for individuals who had unlawfully made surveillance recordings to anti-corruption authorities.
The Surveillance Devices Amendment (Public Interest Exceptions) Bill 2026 passed both houses of NSW Parliament on March 2026, after the Minns Labor Government moved a motion calling on the Liberals and Nationals to support its immediate passage.
The legislation amends the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 to introduce a public interest exception. Under the new law, individuals or organisations who come into possession of unlawfully made surveillance recordings, but were not involved in making them, can share them with law enforcement without fear of prosecution, provided they act promptly.
Previously, no such protection existed for people acting in the public interest to report crime or corruption.
The Bill extends the public interest exception to the NSW Police Force, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, and the NSW Crime Commission. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had already held a temporary exemption through regulation under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007. The new legislation enshrines that exemption in statute.
The reforms also introduce a new possession offence. A person must not possess a record of a private conversation or activity if they recorded it in contravention of the Act, or if they knew the record was made unlawfully and failed to promptly give it to a law enforcement agency. Penalties for individuals reach up to 100 penalty units or five years imprisonment, or both.
The Bill places limitations on how police officers may use surveillance device records obtained in contravention of the Act. Officers may only possess, communicate, or publish such records in connection with investigating a relevant offence, referring matters to the ICAC or Law Enforcement Conduct Commission where the record does not relate to a relevant offence but may relate to those bodies' functions, or where possession is necessary to comply with the Act.
The Government first introduced the legislation in October last year, but the Liberals, Nationals, and Greens blocked it. The Government reintroduced the Bill in February, but the Opposition again moved to block it by proposing a warrant system that the ICAC said was unworkable and unduly unfettered its ability to investigate corruption.
In a news release, Attorney General Michael Daley said, "For months, the Opposition has sought to hinder the ICAC from doing its job by refusing to give it the powers it requested. The Opposition said they'd back it if we limited the powers to law enforcement, and we did, only for them to look for another way to try and defeat this crucial legislation."
Special Minister of State John Graham said, "At the end of the day this was a simple decision, it was about allowing ICAC to access evidence that could uncover corruption when it occurs. Thankfully those powers are now law, and the people of NSW will be safer from corruption as a result. New technology changes the nature of evidence that is collected in the community. We have to allow ICAC to keep up, by using the best evidence available."
The reforms do not authorise recording someone without consent or committing offences such as trespass.
The Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. A ministerial review of the amended provisions must begin within five years of commencement, with a report tabled in Parliament within six years.
