QLD: Can a fire contractor take and share photos of hazardous items inside a lot?

Question: Can a fire safety contractor photograph items in a lot owner’s garage and share the images with the strata manager?

Our strata manager received a fire safety report from a fire safety company that included a photo of items stored in my garage. The contractor says that the items are hazardous. Other residents also store flammable items in their garages, but as far as I know, only I have been contacted about this issue.

Is the fire safety contractor breaching privacy laws by providing a photo of my garage to the body corporate manager? Is this the correct process for reporting hazards?

Answer: If the contractor trespassed on your property to take the photo, you may have cause for complaint.

If you have been presented with evidence that you have hazardous items on your lot, the first concern should be to resolve any issues with the storage of these items.

If you think other owners also pose a hazard, you can report that to the body corporate, and they can follow up. You could submit a Form 1 advising of a breach of the by-law, if necessary.

We don’t know what your by-laws state, but most by-laws have a clause relating to storage of hazardous materials that might be relevant. The standard Schedule 4 by-laws read:

Storage of flammable materials

1. The _occupier of a lot must not, without the body corporate’s written approval, store a flammable substance on the common property.
2. The _occupier of a lot must not, without the body corporate’s written approval, store a flammable substance on the lot unless the substance is used or intended for use for domestic purposes.
3. However, this section does not apply to the storage of fuel in—

   1. the fuel tank of a vehicle, boat, or internal-combustion engine; or
   2. a tank kept on a vehicle or boat in which the fuel is stored under the requirements of the law regulating the storage of flammable liquid.

As to how the contractor obtained evidence of the possible breach, we don’t know the circumstances, so it is difficult to say if there has been a privacy breach. If necessary, you may need to seek a legal opinion.

Still, if I were your body corporate manager, I would point you to the advice the BCCM has provided to body corporates on requirements around CCTV cameras. It seems reasonable that this advice would apply in this instance.

As per the BCCM Fact Sheet | Video surveillance. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance in a body corporate:

In Queensland, it is not illegal for someone to video you or your home, unless:

• they are videoing your private body parts or activities;
• they are recording a private conversation without your permission;
• they trespass on your land to do so (Summary Offences Act 2005, section 11); or
• it amounts to stalking or domestic violence (Criminal Code Act 1899, sections 359A-F, Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, sections 177-179).

On that basis, if we assume that the contractor stood on the common property and photographed the garage space through an open garage door, there may not be an issue. On the other hand, if they trespassed on your property to take the photo, you may have cause for complaint.

This post appears in the May 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924