If that person installed a bug on the telephone to intercept and listen/record both sides of the telephone conversation then it would also be a federal offence under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth).
Section 227A prohibits the visual recording of a person without their consent in a private place or while they are engaged in a private act. Distributing such a recording to others is also prohibited under s 227B.
If all parties impliedly or expressly consent to being recorded, it is legal to use a listening device to record that conversation. However, the use of listening devices or recording devices is legal in accordance with a warrant or emergency authorisation.
Generally, consent must be obtained from either one party or all parties for a conversation to be lawfully recorded in private in Australia. The parties required to provide consent for the recording vary from state-to-state and depend on the circumstances.
Legal requirements of listening and recording device use
It is illegal to use listening or recording devices that are not permitted for public use. Individuals may only use listening or recording devices within reasonable privacy laws for legitimate security and safety reasons.
Federal Law
It is a federal crime to wiretap or to use a machine to capture the communications of others without court approval, unless one of the parties has given their prior consent. It is likewise a federal crime to use or disclose any information acquired by illegal wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping.
Is eavesdropping a crime? Technically, just overhearing a private conversation is not a crime. However, if you purposefully listen in on a private communication with the aid of an electronic device, or if you record the private conversation on a device, then you can be charged with a crime.
Publishing or communicating recordings of conversations
Even if you were involved in a conversation that was legally recorded, it's still illegal to communicate the conversation or publish it without the permission of the other people involved in the conversation (with some exceptions).
You can secretly record a private conversation if the secret recording is 'reasonably necessary' to protect your 'lawful interests'. If you illegally secretly record someone, you can face criminal prosecution including a term of up to 5 years imprisonment.
According to the Act, deliberately installing a listening device and recording a conversation without consent from the participating parties is considered an offence. All Australian states aside from Queensland require some form of consent when it comes to recording calls.
It is an offence for a person to knowingly install, use or maintain an optical surveillance device to record visually or observe a private activity to which the person is not a party, without the permission of each party to the activity. Maximum penalty: 240 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both.
Federal Laws
The Federal Wiretapping Act/ Electronic Communications Privacy Act prohibits anyone from intercepting oral, wire or electronic communications where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, with two exceptions.
Federal Recording Laws
They prohibit secret recording on your private property or other public spaces where one has a reasonable expectation of privacy. You can sue someone for recording you there without your consent, as that's a gross infringement of federal law.
Australia has more than 800 separate secrecy and non-disclosure laws criminalising the release of vast swathes of information held by the federal government, according to a new government paper.
Your rights are the same across Australia when:
Police ask to check your phones — they need your consent. You film the police — that is allowed in public spaces. Police act on a noise complaint — you must comply.
In every state and territory in Australia, it is a federal offence under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) to intercept or record any conversation conducted over a telecommunication system, regardless of whether the parties to the conversation consent.
According to one former FBI agent, the US government may indeed keep a massive database where all domestic communications are recorded and stored. Every day collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications.
An easy way to record a phone call on an iPhone is by using another Apple device with the Voice Memos app, which should come already installed on your Apple device. This app allows you to record audio using the microphone on your iPhone, with no need for a cord or extra devices to help you pick up sound.
You could be violating data privacy laws, if the screenshot of the conversation contains personal data. The penalties range from P500,000 to as much as P4 million, depending on the violation committed.
For example, if you shared a screenshot of someone's private messages or emails and shared them without the person's consent, you would be violating their privacy. Fraudsters may use screenshots to steal someone's identity by taking a picture of their driver's license or passport.
Personal Use:
While it is still smart to ask permission before sharing, this small amount of sharing or no sharing at all is not threatening a person's safety, so it is unlikely that it will be illegal. Purely screenshotting a conversation and keeping it for oneself is not illegal.
It can be really tempting to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, whether they're your neighbors, your parents, or the loud stranger taking a phone call outside. But eavesdropping can be rude and even dangerous.
The truth is, yes. Someone can listen to your phone calls, if they have the right tools and they know how to use them – which when all is said and done, isn't anywhere near as difficult as you might expect.
Aggressive listening is a bad listening practice in which people pay attention in order to attack something that a speaker says (McCornack, 2007). Aggressive listeners like to ambush speakers in order to critique their ideas, personality, or other characteristics.
Place your phone or MP3 player in a large pocket of your pants or sweatshirt, then run your earbud cord from that pocket up the inside of the shirt or sweatshirt so that the earpieces come out by your neck. Put the hood up on your sweatshirt and/or wrap the earbud cords behind your ears to make them less obvious.