[no bill text published] Exceptions and Penalties for the Use of Surveillance Devices
Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
audio recording digital surveillance law enforcement police body cameras privacy surveillance devices
Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Susan Carter LIB
“In The First Circle, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn explores the question of what limits, if any, should be placed on the investigative organs of government being able to access information about its citizens. In this bill, the Government invites us to consider the same question.”
Sue Higginson GRN
“On behalf of The Greens, I indicate that we simply do not support the Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell described a society in which surveillance was no longer exceptional but normalised and continuous. He wrote:”
Mark Banasiak SFFP
“On behalf of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, I oppose the Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. Once again, we are told not to worry. Once again, we are told it is narrow, temporary and exceptional; and once again none of that is true. Whenever a bill contains the words like "surveillance", "tracking" and "other legislation", the House should be cautious.”
Emma Hurst AJP
“On behalf of the Animal Justice Party, I contribute to debate on the Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.”
Mark Latham IND
“The Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 is part of one of the most regrettable trends in modern governance and, indeed, in modern society: the erosion of freedom and privacy. There are a number of factors at play—three of them that I can identify.”
Rachel Merton LIB
“I make a contribution to debate on the Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. I commend aspects of the bill that bring much-needed clarity to the lawful use of surveillance tools by government agencies.”
John Graham ALP
“It was a good discussion. I thank the Hon. Susan Carter, Ms Sue Higginson, the Hon. Mark Banasiak, the Hon. Emma Hurst, the Hon. Mark Latham and the Hon. Rachel Merton for their contributions. I will attempt to address a range of the points made, given there were substantive points raised in the debate.”
News articles and press releases
Surveillance Devices and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2025-10-21
Consultation with government and external agencies has shown that the current prohibitions in the Act have prevented the use of surveillance devices such as body-worn video by New South Wales Government agencies. The current prohibitions have also prevented the sharing of surveillance device records with investigative bodies, potentially hampering investigations into crime, corruption or other unlawful conduct. Sharing surveillance device records in those circumstances would clearly serve the public interest. The bill will ensure that records made by surveillance devices can be used by investigative bodies in their investigations into crimes and corruption when it is in the public interest, and will also enable New South Wales agencies to make appropriate use of surveillance devices in the exercise of their functions.