Can Property Managers Take Photos During Inspections? (Australia 2026)

Property managers take hundreds of inspection photos every year. Tenants see a camera phone pointed at their bathroom or living room and wonder: is that actually legal? And property managers themselves sometimes wonder exactly where the line is — especially when a tenant has complained, or when a dispute has arisen over what appeared in a condition report.

The answer is not complicated, but it does have a few state-specific wrinkles worth knowing. The short version: photos that document the property's condition are legitimate and expected. Photos that capture personal belongings, private documents, or anything that identifies the tenant rather than documenting the property are a different matter — and increasingly regulated.

This guide covers the rules as they apply to Australian property managers in 2026 across entry condition reports, routine inspections, and exit inspections. It also covers the separate situation of advertising photos taken during a tenancy, which has its own rules.

The core principle that applies across all Australian states is that photos taken during a rental property inspection must serve a legitimate purpose related to managing the premises.

At the condition-report level, that purpose is documenting the property's physical state — what condition items are in at the start of a tenancy, and how they compare at exit. At the routine inspection level, it's checking that the property is being maintained and identifying any maintenance issues or damage that needs attention.

Photos taken for those purposes are clearly appropriate. Photos taken simply because the camera was pointed at whatever was in the room — including a tenant's personal belongings — are not.

At the federal level, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles set requirements for organisations that collect personal information. Photos taken during inspections can constitute personal information where they capture identifiable belongings or information about tenants. Under the Australian Privacy Principles, personal information must be collected only for a clear purpose, handled securely, and not used or disclosed beyond that purpose. Most real estate agencies also have privacy obligations under their state licensing frameworks, regardless of whether the Privacy Act's specific size thresholds apply to their business.

In practice, this means every photo you take during an inspection should have a clear answer to the question: "If a tenant asks why I took this, what do I say?" If the honest answer is "I was documenting the property's condition," you're on solid ground. If it's harder to articulate, reconsider.

The following types of photos are clearly within scope for a property manager during any type of inspection:

Property condition documentation. Photos of walls, floors, ceilings, fixtures, fittings, windows, doors, and appliances — capturing their condition at the time of the inspection. This is the core function of a condition report and routine inspection report. Each photo should tie to a specific room and item in the inspection template.

Maintenance and repair items. If a water stain on the ceiling, a cracked tile, or a faulty blind needs attention, a photo of that item serves the legitimate purpose of evidencing the issue for the landlord and any tradespeople. These photos belong in your routine inspection report alongside a maintenance request if needed.

Damage beyond fair wear and tear. If you observe damage at routine or exit inspection — scuff marks that go beyond ordinary use, holes in walls, damaged fixtures — photos of those specific items are exactly what you need to support a bond claim. The photo should show the damage clearly, tied to the relevant room and item in your inspection report.

Compliance items. Smoke alarms, safety switches, window locks, pool safety fencing — photos documenting the presence and condition of these items during routine inspections are appropriate and professionally sound. Some states require evidence of compliance checks, and a photo provides that evidence.

Vacant or tidied spaces. If a room is empty or the tenant has tidied personal belongings away before your inspection, you can photograph freely — there's no privacy concern when nothing personal is in frame.

The boundary is personal belongings. Property managers should not photograph:

Personal possessions. Tenant furniture, clothing, books, electronics, and general personal property. The property's condition can be documented without capturing what the tenant owns. If you're photographing a kitchen bench and the tenant's laptop is on it, either ask them to move it or frame the shot to exclude it.

Private documents and financial records. Bank statements, mail, medical records, personal correspondence — anything that clearly contains financial or personal details about the tenant must not be captured.

Medication. Medications visible in a bathroom cabinet or on a bedside table are clearly private. Do not photograph them.

Family photos and personal images. Framed photos, artwork depicting the tenant's family, or images of identifiable people should not appear in your inspection photos.

Anything clearly private. The test is common sense: would a reasonable person consider this photo an intrusion into their personal life? If yes, do not take it.

The practical way to handle this is to ask tenants — in your entry notice before every routine inspection — to tidy personal items away from surfaces before you arrive. This protects both parties: the tenant's belongings don't appear in your documentation, and you can photograph each surface freely without concern about what's on it. Including this request in your standard inspection notice template costs nothing and removes most issues before they arise.

The entry condition report is where photo documentation matters most. A properly structured entry report with clear, room-by-room photos sets the baseline against which everything at exit is compared. Without it, a landlord's ability to substantiate a bond claim at tribunal is significantly weakened.

For entry condition report photos, the approach should be:

Room-by-room, item-by-item. Each photo should be clearly associated with a specific item in the condition report template — not a general "here's the kitchen" dump, but specific shots of the kitchen bench, the cooktop, the rangehood, and each appliance, each tied to its condition rating.

Timestamped and geotagged where possible. Inspection software that preserves original photo metadata matters here. A photo whose timestamp matches the inspection date and whose location metadata matches the property's address is more defensible at tribunal than a photo exported from a general gallery with no metadata attached.

Free of personal belongings where possible. At entry, the property may be vacant or an outgoing tenant's belongings may still be present. If personal property is visible in a photo, note in the report that the item shown was present at the time, and flag it clearly so the incoming tenant can review and annotate the relevant condition entries.

Provided to the tenant. The condition report — including photos — should be given to the tenant at or before move-in so they have the opportunity to note any disagreements. Their signed copy or formal response becomes part of the evidentiary record. In most states this is a legal requirement, not just good practice.

See how to photograph rental property damage for bond evidence for a detailed guide on making your entry and exit photos stand up at tribunal.

During routine inspections, photo documentation serves two purposes: evidencing the property's maintained condition for the landlord's records, and flagging any maintenance items or damage that needs attention.

Several practical principles make this work better:

Notify tenants that photos may be taken. Most entry notice templates include a line about photography. If yours does not, add it — something like "I may take photos to document the property's condition and any maintenance items." This removes ambiguity and gives tenants the opportunity to tidy personal items before you arrive.

Be systematic, not opportunistic. Work through the property room by room, following a consistent template. This keeps your documentation objective and ensures you don't miss items — and it avoids any appearance that you were photographing the tenant's lifestyle or possessions rather than the property itself.

Frame shots to exclude personal belongings where possible. If a bookshelf has condition issues worth documenting, frame the shot to show the shelf, not the books. If a bench has water damage, photograph the damage area. You can usually capture the evidence you need without including what the tenant owns.

NSW consent rules. NSW has specific guidance on photographing personal belongings during inspections. If a photo will show a tenant's personal property, you should obtain the tenant's consent before taking it — a verbal yes noted in your inspection record, or a written confirmation, is sufficient. For current requirements, check NSW Fair Trading's guidance at fairtrading.nsw.gov.au.

Store inspection photos securely and retain them for the required period. Inspection photos are personal information where they capture anything identifiable about the tenancy. Store them in your practice management system with appropriate access controls and retain them for the period required by your state's rules — your state tenancy authority can advise on the current retention requirements.

The exit inspection is where your entry condition report photos earn their keep. A documented comparison between entry and exit condition — with clear photos of both — is the standard of evidence that tribunals expect when considering bond claims. Condition report photos alone, without a matching exit comparison, are much weaker.

For exit inspection photos:

Match the entry report structure. Photograph each item listed in the entry condition report. If the entry report has 12 items in the kitchen, your exit inspection should have 12 corresponding kitchen photos. Tribunals look for a clear before-and-after comparison, not a general impression.

Focus specifically on damage. Where you observe damage beyond fair wear and tear, take a close-up photo of the damage itself, then a wider shot showing its location in the room. The combination of detail and context makes the evidence much clearer than either shot alone.

Timestamp everything. Exit photos must be clearly dated to the post-vacate inspection period — not the day before the tenant moved out, and not a week later after other work has been done on the property. Your inspection software should preserve this automatically, but verify that metadata is being retained.

Document good condition too. An exit report that only photographs damage and ignores items in normal condition looks selective. Document rooms in good condition as well — it shows a complete, honest inspection record, which carries more weight at tribunal than a report that appears to have cherry-picked the bad news.

For the connection between exit inspection photos and the bond claim process, see how to claim bond at the end of a tenancy in Australia.

A separate and commonly misunderstood situation: when a property needs to be marketed for re-letting while a current tenant is still living there.

Photos taken for advertising purposes are distinct from inspection photos taken to document the property's condition. A routine inspection gives you entry rights to check the property's maintenance — not to photograph it for marketing platforms. If you need advertising photos while a tenant is in place, the process is different:

Separate notice is required. Entry for photography for advertising purposes requires its own notice, separate from the routine inspection notice. The entry notice must specify the purpose — that photos will be taken for marketing the property — and must comply with your state's notice period requirements.

Tenant cooperation is essential. Most tenancy legislation requires tenants to allow reasonable access for re-letting purposes, but the detail of what "reasonable" means varies by state. Practically, photography during a tenancy works best when the tenant understands what's being photographed and why, has an opportunity to tidy personal items away, and receives copies of any photos taken inside their home on request.

Advertising photos showing tenant belongings must not be published. If you take photos with tenant belongings visible and publish them on a real estate platform, that creates a privacy problem regardless of whether your entry was lawful. Tenants have raised complaints about this at state tribunals and with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. If you need interior marketing photos, either arrange them with the tenant's cooperation (giving them time to tidy) or use photos from a previous vacancy.

When in doubt, use exterior-only photos. If the tenant is uncooperative or the timing is too tight to arrange proper interior access, exterior photos of the property are far less problematic and may be sufficient for initial advertising purposes.

Photo rules during inspections are not comprehensively codified in a single provision in every Australian state. In most jurisdictions, the applicable rules come from a combination of tenancy legislation, privacy law, and regulator guidance. Here is what is notable by state:

Queensland. The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has published dedicated factsheets titled "Taking photos in a rental property" — with separate editions for property managers/owners and for tenants. These are the most thorough state-level guidance documents on this topic available in Australia and are available directly at rta.qld.gov.au. If you operate in Queensland, reading these factsheets is the clearest way to understand your obligations.

New South Wales. NSW has specific guidance on consent for photographing personal belongings during inspections — if a photo will capture tenant property, you should obtain the tenant's consent before taking it. NSW Fair Trading is the regulator; their current guidance is at fairtrading.nsw.gov.au.

Victoria. Tenants Victoria publishes a "Privacy while renting" guide covering what landlords and agents can and cannot do during inspections, including photography. Consumer Affairs Victoria handles disputes and can advise on current requirements; see consumer.vic.gov.au.

Western Australia. Consumer Protection WA handles residential tenancy matters; see commerce.wa.gov.au for current guidance.

South Australia. Consumer and Business Services SA is the relevant authority; see cbs.sa.gov.au.

ACT. Access Canberra handles tenancy matters; see accesscanberra.act.gov.au.

Tasmania. Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) is the regulator; see cbos.tas.gov.au.

Northern Territory. The NT's housing and renting guidance is at nt.gov.au — the NT also has specific condition report requirements documented there.

Across all jurisdictions, the general principles are consistent: document the property, not the tenant's life. Where you have any doubt about a specific requirement in your state, contact the relevant authority directly.

Tenants who believe photos were taken inappropriately during an inspection have a few options:

Raise it directly with the property manager in writing. If a tenant believes personal belongings were photographed without consent, they should raise this in writing — by email to the agency — stating specifically what their concern is and asking for confirmation that the photos will not be used, shared, or published. Many issues are resolved at this stage without further escalation.

Contact the state tenancy authority. Each state has an authority that handles tenancy disputes and enquiries: the RTA in Queensland, NSW Fair Trading in New South Wales, Consumer Affairs Victoria in Victoria, Consumer Protection WA in Western Australia, Consumer and Business Services SA in South Australia, Access Canberra in the ACT, CBOS in Tasmania, and the NT Government's housing authority in the Northern Territory. These authorities can provide information about rights and, where a breach has occurred, can assist with dispute resolution.

Contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). If the concern relates to a breach of the Privacy Act 1988 — for example, inspection photos being disclosed to a third party, or photos of personal documents being used inappropriately — the OAIC handles Privacy Act complaints at oaic.gov.au.

Raise it at the relevant tribunal. Where inspection photos have been used inappropriately in a bond claim — for example, photos that captured personal belongings rather than documenting property condition — tenants can contest those photos in the bond dispute process. A photo that clearly shows a tenant's personal property rather than the property itself may be given limited evidentiary weight, particularly if the property manager cannot demonstrate a clear, legitimate reason for taking it.