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Privacy Lawyer Sydney

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Invasion of Privacy Lawyer for Sydney Clients

Following the introduction of the statutory tort for serious invasion of privacy, individuals in Australia have the right to bring a civil claim under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Claims are brought in the Federal Court of Australia or in state and territory courts exercising federal jurisdiction. Location is not a barrier.

We act for Sydney-based plaintiffs and defendants in privacy tort proceedings. We appear in the Federal Court (Sydney Registry) and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Our fixed-fee entry points, including the $770 confidential initial assessment and $990 pre-action demand letter, are available to Sydney clients on the same terms as our Melbourne clients. For urgent privacy injunctions, we act quickly to protect your interests.

Time limits apply. You may have a limited window from when you became aware of the invasion to commence proceedings. If you need a privacy solicitor in Sydney, contact us for an initial assessment of your position.

Need an urgent privacy lawyer in Sydney?

Confidential initial assessments are available by phone or video conference. Fixed fee: $770.

How We Serve Sydney Clients

Federal jurisdiction means you are not limited to a local firm. What matters is the quality of the legal work.

Federal Court building representing nationwide privacy law jurisdiction

Federal Court, Sydney Registry

The statutory tort is a Commonwealth cause of action. Claims are filed in the Federal Court of Australia, which sits in every capital city. We file and appear in the Sydney Registry. Applications for urgent privacy injunctions can be brought before a duty judge, including outside ordinary sitting hours where the circumstances require it. The same court, the same rules, the same remedies apply regardless of where you or your solicitor are located.

Legal professional providing urgent privacy law response

Urgent Response, Including After Hours

Privacy invasions can happen at any time. If someone is threatening to publish intimate images, if a surveillance device has been discovered in your home, or if private information is being circulated online, the response must be immediate. We offer after-hours availability for urgent matters and can prepare injunction applications at short notice. Sydney clients receive the same priority as clients in any other city.

Remote legal consultation representing accessible privacy law services

Remote Consultations, Fixed-Fee Entry Points

Your initial assessment is conducted by phone or video conference. It is a detailed legal consultation, not a sales call. We assess whether your matter meets the statutory threshold for a serious invasion of privacy, determine the right legal path (intrusion upon seclusion or misuse of personal information), and advise on your options. The fee is $770, fixed. If you proceed, the next step is typically a pre-action demand letter ($990, fixed) or, where urgency requires it, an application for injunctive relief.

The Statutory Tort and NSW Law: What Sydney Clients Should Know

Two Pathways Under Schedule 2

The statutory tort for serious invasion of privacy under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) recognises two distinct forms of actionable conduct.

The first is intrusion upon seclusion: the defendant intruded upon the plaintiff's physical solitude or seclusion, or into the plaintiff's private affairs. This covers surveillance, tracking, hidden cameras, eavesdropping, hacking accounts, and physical intrusion into private spaces. If a former partner has installed tracking software on your phone, if a neighbour has directed a camera into your yard or bedroom, or if a landlord has left a concealed recording device in your rental property, the intrusion pathway is likely engaged.

The second is misuse of personal information: the defendant collected, used, or disclosed private information about the plaintiff in circumstances where the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy. This covers doxxing, publication of medical or financial records, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and disclosure of private personal details online or to third parties. Truth is not a defence. It does not matter whether the information published was accurate.

Both pathways require the invasion to have been intentional or reckless. Carelessness or negligence alone is not sufficient. The invasion must also be serious, assessed by reference to a range of factors set out in the legislation. You do not need to prove financial loss. The tort is actionable without proof of damage.

The Gap in NSW State Legislation

New South Wales has the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW), which creates criminal offences for certain types of surveillance. The NSW Act requires all-party consent for recording private conversations (with a limited lawful interest exception), and it prohibits optical surveillance carried out by means of trespass on, or interference with, another person's property. Penalties are significant, including up to five years' imprisonment for some offences.

However, the NSW Act has important limitations for civil claimants. It creates criminal offences, not civil causes of action. You cannot sue for damages under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007. If a person is conducting external surveillance of your home from their own property, without trespassing or interfering with your property, the NSW Act may not be engaged at all. And the Act does not cover many forms of data surveillance, online privacy invasions, or the publication and misuse of private information.

The Commonwealth statutory tort fills these gaps. It provides a civil remedy, pursued in court by the affected individual, for any serious and intentional or reckless invasion of privacy. It applies across Australia regardless of state boundaries. A breach of the NSW Surveillance Devices Act may strengthen a claim under the Commonwealth tort, but the tort is available even where no state criminal offence has been committed.

The OAIC Pathway: Free, But Limited

Sydney residents can also lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). This pathway is free and does not require a solicitor. However, it only applies to APP entities, meaning organisations and agencies bound by the Australian Privacy Principles under Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act. The OAIC cannot investigate complaints against individuals, small businesses with annual turnover under $3 million (unless they are a health service provider or meet other criteria), or most private actors. Outcomes tend to be modest, there is no capacity for exemplary damages, and the process is often slow. For a more detailed comparison, see our page on OAIC complaint vs suing for invasion of privacy.

Damages and Remedies

If you succeed in a claim under the statutory tort, the court may award damages for non-economic loss (subject to the statutory cap), damages for economic loss, and in exceptional cases, exemplary damages. The court may also grant injunctions to restrain ongoing or threatened invasions, order the defendant to deliver up or destroy material, and require the defendant to publish an account of the finding. For more on the available remedies, see compensation and damages claims and how much compensation for invasion of privacy.

Limitation periods are strict: prescribed limitation periods apply based on when you became aware of the invasion. While extensions are sometimes possible, they are subject to statutory outer limits. Do not delay.

Time limits apply. Act promptly to preserve your position.

Contact us for a confidential initial assessment. We act for both plaintiffs and defendants in privacy tort proceedings.

What We Offer Sydney Clients

The same services, the same fixed-fee entry points, the same urgency.

Confidential Initial Assessment

A detailed legal consultation to assess whether your matter meets the statutory threshold. Conducted by phone or video. Fixed fee: $770.

Pre-Action Demand Letters

A formal letter to the person or entity responsible, setting out the legal position and the consequences of continued conduct. Fixed fee: $990.

Urgent Privacy Injunctions

Court orders to restrain ongoing or threatened invasions of privacy. Filed in the Federal Court (Sydney Registry) or the Supreme Court of NSW.

Damages Claims

Full representation in claims for compensation, including non-economic loss, economic loss, and exemplary damages in appropriate cases.

Defence Representation

We act for defendants facing privacy tort claims, including raising statutory defences, seeking pre-trial exemption determinations, and resisting injunctions.

Overlap with Defamation

Where the same conduct gives rise to both a privacy claim and a defamation claim, we advise on both. See defamationlawyer.au for our related practice.

Frequently Asked Questions: Privacy Lawyer Sydney

No. The statutory tort for serious invasion of privacy is Commonwealth legislation. Claims are brought in the Federal Court of Australia, which sits in every capital city, or in state and territory courts exercising federal jurisdiction. Your solicitor does not need to be based in Sydney to file proceedings in the Sydney Registry, appear before a judge, or obtain urgent injunctive relief. What matters is the solicitor's knowledge of the legislation and their capacity to act with the speed your matter requires.

The NSW Surveillance Devices Act 2007 creates criminal offences for some forms of surveillance, but it generally requires trespass on or interference with your property before an optical surveillance offence is made out. External surveillance conducted from a neighbour's own property may not constitute a criminal offence under state law. However, the Commonwealth statutory tort may provide a civil remedy if the surveillance amounts to a serious, intentional or reckless intrusion upon your seclusion. The assessment turns on the specific facts, including the camera's placement, what it captures, and whether you had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area being observed. See our detailed page on neighbour camera pointing at my house.

The OAIC complaint pathway is free, does not require a solicitor, and is administered by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. However, it only applies to APP entities (organisations and agencies bound by the Australian Privacy Principles). It does not cover complaints against individuals, most small businesses, or private actors. Outcomes are typically modest. The statutory tort under Schedule 2 is a separate legal regime. It allows any individual to bring a court claim against any person, corporation, or government body, regardless of whether the defendant is an APP entity. The tort provides access to damages (subject to the statutory cap for non-economic loss, plus economic loss and exemplary damages), injunctions, and other court orders. See OAIC complaint vs suing for invasion of privacy for a detailed comparison.

For genuinely urgent matters, such as threatened publication of intimate images or discovery of a hidden surveillance device, we can prepare and file an application for injunctive relief at short notice. The Federal Court has a duty judge available for urgent applications, including outside ordinary sitting hours. We offer after-hours availability for urgent instructions. The speed of the court's response depends on the circumstances and the court's own listing capacity, which is outside our control.

The confidential initial assessment is a detailed legal consultation. We review the facts you provide, assess whether the conduct is likely to meet the statutory threshold for a serious invasion of privacy, determine the right legal path (intrusion upon seclusion or misuse of personal information), advise on the available remedies, and outline the likely next steps. The fee is $770 (inclusive of GST), fixed. It is conducted by phone or video conference. See confidential initial assessments for more detail.

It is common for the publication of private information to damage a person's reputation as well as invade their privacy. The two causes of action are distinct and have different elements, defences, and remedies. Truth is a complete defence to defamation but is not a defence to the privacy tort. We advise on both. Where a matter involves overlapping claims, we assess which cause of action (or combination) best serves the client's interests. For defamation-related matters, see defamationlawyer.au and our page on invasion of privacy vs defamation.

Yes. We act for individuals, employers, landlords, corporations, media organisations, and other defendants facing claims under the statutory tort. Defence work includes responding to urgent injunction applications, seeking pre-trial determination of statutory exemptions (which can resolve the matter before trial), raising statutory defences at trial (including consent, lawful authority, necessity, and public interest), and negotiating settlements. An apology by a defendant does not constitute an admission of fault or liability under clause 13 of Schedule 2, which allows for resolution without conceding the claim.

Strict limitation periods apply, calculated from when you first became aware of the invasion. While the court may extend time in certain circumstances, these extensions are subject to strict outer limits. If you are approaching a time limit, seek legal advice promptly. See privacy tort time limits.

Contact Us for a Confidential Assessment

We act for plaintiffs and defendants across Australia. Federal jurisdiction means location is not a barrier. Fixed-fee initial assessment: $770.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is general information and does not constitute specific legal advice.

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