Clause · Strata & Community Titles
By-law regulating AI-enabled CCTV, facial recognition, licence-plate recognition and smart-building data on common property (NSW)
By-law that authorises and limits owners corporation surveillance and analytics on common property: approved purposes, no audio, a default ban on facial recognition, signage, access, retention, privacy and review.
- Kind
- Clause. Wording to drop into a longer document.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the 4 authorities it cites, for New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when an owners corporation installs or upgrades CCTV, access control or analytics on common property, especially systems that can identify people or vehicles. Pass it with any special resolution needed under s 108 for the installation itself.
How AI may be used
AI may draft the by-law and a plain-English summary from the system specification; a lawyer confirms the system's real capabilities, the privacy position and that the by-law is not harsh or oppressive.
AI may
- Draft the by-law and the owners' summary from the installer's written system specification.
- Compare the by-law with the system's settings (retention, analytics, access logs) and list gaps.
- Draft signage text for review.
AI must not
- Must not assume a system has no facial recognition or analytics features; confirm in writing with the supplier.
- Must not decide whether biometric collection is lawful or whether consent is valid.
- Must not be given CCTV footage of identifiable people to analyse unless the tool is approved and the purpose is authorised by the by-law.
The lawyer checks
- Cameras do not capture the interior of any lot, and no audio is recorded.
- Facial recognition and licence-plate recognition are either excluded or limited with consent and a privacy impact assessment.
- Access and disclosure rules work for police requests, insurance claims and owner requests.
- Any installation has its own special resolution under s 108 where needed.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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