Recording the calls of minors

[Abacus]

hi all,
This is part of a much longer ongoing saga- but could anyone provide any information about the recording of phone contact with minors? E.g child's parent calls other parent's mobile for contact with the child.

For safety reasons, all incoming calls are recorded on this phone (due to previous abusive phone calls) and the child has just had a phone contact which left them distraught. This call was recorded (albeit inadvertently) and we are wondering if this is something we can share with child safety - who have previous involvement?
Does the child (as the party to the call) need to be aware that the call is being recorded? Any idea of the legalities around this in QLD?

 

[Shadz]

Hi Abacus,

****I'm not a legal professional or anything remotely related.

I can tell you though, from personal experience/research that it is legal in QLD to record calls/conversations that you are a party of. I have a similar setup on my phone, with calls from particular numbers automatically recorded.
It's a different matter if your not in the conversation though and I know it's hard to find a distinct answer on the net for it in terms of what your asking as I faced that same situation myself.

A couple of quick questions:

You initiated the call and/or were part of the initial/end part of the conversation with the other parent before the child used the phone?
How old is the child?
does the child know/want the calls recorded (dependant on their age/ability to make that decision)?
Has the recording already been listened to and/or has the child told you what has been said to make them distraught/have that reaction?

Whilst I can't give you a definite answer regardless as I only have my personal experience and research to go on, I would assume those questions will help provide more necessary information for anyone else responding to you that is more properly qualified.

Personally - If you haven't listened to it yet and there's no immediate need to find out exactly what was said to assist in calming and reassuring your child then I would probably contact child safety first and discuss it with them, explaining that it was recorded inadvertently but that it hasn't been listened to by yourself/partner.

There is ,of course, also the option of, if your child is willing/able to discuss with the child first what happened (in a loving, positive supportive way) and see if they are comfortable/happy to tell you what was said once they have settled down.

For me the potential issue boiled down to my daughter (8 at the time) being upset and distraught over the phone call as the other parent had been promising to get her an item (and telling her to keep it a secret from me, though she'd told me previously) for months and had just turned around on the last call and pretended they knew nothing about it/denied ever even talking to her about it, making my daughter out to be lying/making stuff up about it rather than just saying they couldn't afford it etc. Something a lot less severe/concerning than my initial fears given the other parents past actions.

 

[Tim W]

Hi Abacus,

****I'm not a legal professional or anything remotely related.

I can tell you though, from personal experience/research that it is legal in QLD to record calls/conversations that you are a party of.

Whereas I am a lawyer, and I would tell you that this statement is only true in Queensland
for face to face conversations.

Further, I would tell you that attaching equipment to your phone
(as @Shadz claims to have done), which, as a matter of legal interpretation
includes installing apps, can amount to an offence.

 

[Abacus]

The app is installed predominantly because there have been a lot of false DV claims, but is switched off for the child's contact.
The child is 9 and has been removed from the primary carer as they emotionally abused them to the extent that child safety intervened- largely over the other parent.

We have listened to the call, after a conversation with the child where they disclosed some of the conversation- but we weren't prepared for the extent of the emotional abuse and manipulation contained in the fall. We will be raising the distress following the call with CS but are reluctant to shoot ourselves in the foot with a genuine inadvertent illegal act

 

[Shadz]

Thank you Tim,

That's why i made sure to make it clear I was not a legal expert.

I definitely do not perceive myself as an expert on this subject or anything legal and I'm fairly certain I've received and acted on advice from you in one of my previous posts.

That being said, I just want to provide you with a link to one of the sources I was directed to at the time I needed advice in this subject, (and had meant to link in my initial reply above), as it contradicts what you've just said and whilst it wouldn't surprise me if its out of date information or miss worded its concerning given how many people may be recording calls based on this information on the Legal Aid QLD website:

Privacy - Legal Aid Queensland

Recording private conversations
In Queensland, it’s not illegal to simply record a conversation you’re involved in (either over the phone or face-to-face) without the consent of the other people involved in the conversation, but there are restrictions on what you can do with the recording. It is illegal to record private conversations that you’re not involved in - get legal advice.

I had also been told the same as the legal aid section by a pair of QLD police officers after they had to remove my ex from my premises 4 years ago.

Apologies to the original poster for taking this slightly off topic but it just concerns me how many people, such as myself, may be recording phone calls illegally, especially given it now appears I'll have to once again deal with the Ex in court and had until right now, assumed I'd be recording the calls between us (that contain threats and abuse from her) legally.

 

[Shadz]

Abacus - I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it's upsetting to hear that your child has had to go through that, I had hoped that it would turn out be less severe/concerning than your initial fears. I'm a slow typer so I didn't see your response until after I'd made the above reply.

Despite my above link I would still advise following Tim's advice as it is just copied from a website that may not be up to date and I have only linked it in order to seek clarity and hopefully clear up my own confusion in this matter.

 

[Tim W]

The offence is to use equipment attached to telephone equipment or to the telephone system.
No matter a microphone, an inline device, or an installed app.

....and I'm fairly certain I've received and acted on advice from you in one of my previous posts.

Oh my, you do like to live dangerously

 

[Shadz]

Thank you for your response Tim

Oh my, you do like to live dangerously

That gave a good laugh, that was definitely needed after my week, I like to say that life would be boring if it wasn't challenging

Just noticed your signature:

"Remember - it's a really bad idea to make big decisions based on what some guy says on the internet."

Very wise words, I might have to steal that and put it as my signature too