Is it legal to record a conversation or phone call in New Zealand?

The general rule

New Zealand is what’s often called a “one-party consent” country. The Crimes Act makes it an offence to use a device to intentionally intercept a private communication, but there’s an exception when you are a party to it. So if you’re on the phone call, in the meeting or part of the conversation, recording it yourself is generally lawful, even if you don’t say so.

What’s not allowed is hiding a recorder to capture a private conversation between other people, such as leaving your phone recording in a room after you walk out, or bugging someone’s car or house. That can be a crime.

The Privacy Act is a separate question

The Privacy Commissioner’s view is that recording without telling someone may breach the Privacy Act, depending on who is recording and why:

• For your own personal affairs, such as recording a conversation with a friend or a call with a company, the Privacy Act generally doesn’t apply. The exception is if the way you collect, use or share the recording would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
• For an organisation, the normal privacy principles apply. A business that records calls without telling people may be collecting information unfairly. That’s why businesses usually say “this call may be recorded”.

Sharing the recording

Having a lawful recording doesn’t mean you can do anything with it. Posting a recording online to embarrass or harm someone can breach the Harmful Digital Communications Act, and in serious cases it can be an offence. Sharing someone’s private information can also lead to a privacy claim under the common law.

Using a recording as evidence is different. Recordings are often used in employment disputes, tenancy disputes and court proceedings. Whether a court or tribunal accepts it is up to that body.

Common situations

Recording at work or for an organisation

If you’re recording on behalf of an organisation, tell people. A short “we record calls for training and to resolve disputes” at the start of a call, plus a line in your privacy statement, covers most situations. Our collection notice templates include a phone script.

Intimate recordings

Making an intimate visual recording of someone without their knowledge or consent is a separate and serious offence. If this has happened to you, see intimate images shared or threatened.