Resources and learning

A ginger cat sits on top of a concrete wall that has a CCTV camera on it. The cat is looking down at the viewer. It can be challenging to have a happy relationship with your neighbour if they’re worried that you’re filming them. However, a person acting as an individual (not in a business or organisation) is not usually covered by the Privacy Act unless what they’re doing is ‘highly offensive’ to a reasonable person.

In the case of CCTV at home, highly offensive could be filming into bathrooms, or filming children at play in their backyard. We would not consider images highly offensive if they could be seen from the street.

For example, if you are sunbathing semi-naked in your own back yard surrounded by a three-metre-high fence, you would expect not to be spied on. It is also against the law to peer into people’s homes and record them.

While the Privacy Act might not apply to home CCTV cameras, other laws might. For example, the Crimes Act doesn’t allow intimate recording of people without their consent or knowledge and bans publication of these recordings. We would recommend raising your concerns with Police.

Tips for people using cameras at home:

Talk to your neighbours before setting up a camera.
Put up signs telling people that cameras are in place.
Show your neighbours footage of themselves if they ask for it.
Consider other security measures, like lights and alarms first.
Stop and think before you upload footage to the internet.
Give your footage to Police if you suspect an offence has taken place.
Don’t be creepy. Don’t record activities that would otherwise be private.
Don’t point a security camera directly at a neighbour’s property, doors, or windows.
Don’t hold onto camera footage for longer than necessary.
Don’t share footage of your neighbours on their property.
Don’t over-record by recording all the time or from every angle.