CCTV, cameras and monitoring staff

Cameras and monitoring tools collect personal information constantly, which means every privacy principle applies to them. Most problems come from setting systems up without deciding what they’re for.

Start with the purpose

Write down why you need each camera or monitoring tool, such as theft prevention at the till, safety in an isolated car park, evidence of incidents with customers. The purpose decides everything else, including where the camera points, whether it records audio, how long you keep footage and who can view it.

“Just in case” isn’t a purpose.

Cameras on your premises

Point cameras at what you need to see. Avoid neighbours’ properties, public footpaths beyond what’s necessary, and anywhere people expect privacy, such as toilets, changing rooms and staff break areas.
Think hard before recording audio. Audio is much more intrusive, captures conversations you have no reason to hear, and is rarely necessary for security.
Put up clear signs at entrances saying cameras are in use, who operates them, and how to contact you. That covers your notice obligations for most premises.
Limit access. Decide who can view live and recorded footage, log access, and secure the recorder and any app.
Keep footage only as long as you need it. Many organisations overwrite automatically after 30 days or less, keeping specific clips longer only when there’s an incident.
Handle requests. People can ask for footage of themselves. The Commissioner’s guidance covers how to handle other people appearing in the same footage.

If your cameras use facial recognition or other biometric analysis, the Biometric Processing Privacy Code applies on top of everything here. See the biometrics code guide.

Number plate recognition

Automatic number plate recognition systems create a record of vehicles’ movements, which is personal information about the people linked to them. Apply the same discipline, with a clear purpose, signs, access limits, short retention, and careful thought before sharing data with others, including Police. Sharing with Police should be based on a lawful exception or a legal requirement, decided case by case or under an agreed framework.

Monitoring employees

Employers can monitor work systems for legitimate reasons, such as security, protecting confidential information, and investigating misconduct. To stay within the Act, and within good-faith obligations under employment law:

Tell staff what you monitor, why, and how the information may be used, in a written policy they’ve seen. Covert monitoring is only defensible in narrow circumstances, such as investigating suspected serious wrongdoing where telling the person would defeat the purpose, and you should get advice first.
Keep it proportionate. Logging access to sensitive records is easy to justify. Recording keystrokes or screenshots of personal devices all day usually isn’t.
Separate work and personal. Be cautious with monitoring that reaches into personal accounts, personal phones or life outside work.
Limit who sees it and use it only for the stated purposes.

Our workplace monitoring and CCTV policy template includes a short notice for staff.

Body-worn cameras

Body cameras for staff in security, retail or enforcement roles can reduce aggression, but they record people at close range, often in distress. Decide when cameras record (always on, or switched on for incidents), tell people when they’re recording, and restrict retention and viewing tightly.

Doorbell and home cameras

The Privacy Act generally doesn’t apply to individuals managing their personal or household affairs, unless the way the information is collected or used would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. A camera that records into a neighbour’s property can cross that line, and can also bring in harassment or intimate recording laws. Point it at your own property, and be considerate.