What do mobile phone cameras look like? Here's how to spot them (2024)

Mobile phone detection cameras are increasingly popping up around Australia – here's how they catch drivers in the act.

A recent mobile phone camera blitz in South Australia caught almost 31,000 drivers using, touching or looking at their mobile phones while driving in only one month.

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During the first month of the cameras' operation in SA – which coincided with a grace period in which only warning letters were issued – a whopping 836 motorists were caught on four or more occasions.

Almost every state and territory in Australia except for the Northern Territory and Western Australia is now using mobile phone cameras to some degree, with steep penalties for those caught engaging with their phones while driving.

New South Wales was the first in Australia to implement the cameras in late 2019, catching more than 3000 drivers across the state in their first week of operation.

The cameras have not been without controversy, with some drivers complaining they are an invasion of privacy due to the detailed imagery they capture.

At the same time, authority figures have warned they could clog the courts with drivers disputing the cameras' potentially inaccurate findings, while others have accused them of being a sheer revenue-raising exercise.

Here's what mobile phone cameras look like, what behaviours they detect and where they're located around Australia.

There are two types of mobile phone detection cameras in operation across Australia: fixed and mobile. What they look like will vary depending on your location, but generally speaking, they comply with certain criteria.

Fixed cameras are typically fitted to existing infrastructure – like the speed camera network or digital road signage – and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Fixed cameras are usually black boxes that resemble red light cameras or speed cameras, making them more difficult to spot.

Meanwhile, portable cameras move around both regional and urban roads and are typically easier to identify given they are large, long-armed structures that are sometimes bright yellow in colour.

Typically, they are also fitted with extensive CCTV security and tracking systems and are sometimes powered by large solar panels that sit at the base of the structure.

Mobile phone detection cameras usually capture multiple images of the front seats of the vehicle as well as the car's number plates.

Artificial intelligence software then sifts through these images to detect possible illegal mobile phone use (as well as failure to properly wear a seatbelt).

Illegal mobile phone use while driving includes: operating a mobile phone, holding a mobile phone, having a phone resting on your body or looking at the display of a mobile phone – even one held by another vehicle occupant.

Images that don't appear to show illegal behaviour are deleted, while images identified as showing potential law-breaking behaviour will be flagged for further review by the authorities.

The below images are supplied by the ACT Government and give examples of illegal phone use that would be picked up by mobile phone detection cameras. Some road users may be shocked to see that even having a phone loosely placed under your leg – even if it's not visible – is considered an offence.

"There are a total of 47 fixed and transportable mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras that operate in NSW to achieve over 135 million vehicle checks each year," a Transport for NSW spokesperson told Drive.

"Fixed cameras are positioned on roads with a high traffic volume and using the selection criteria outlined in the NSW Automated Enforcement Strategy for road safety, that includes risk levels, geographic spread of enforcement, and difficult locations for NSW Police to enforce.

"Transportable cameras operate across the road network to increase unpredictability of enforcement. This supports deterrence because illegal mobile phone and seatbelt non-compliance occurs across the road network. Mobile Phone and Seatbelt Detection Cameras began enforcing seatbelt offences on 1 July 2024."

The NSW transport authority does not publish the locations of its mobile phone detection cameras.

In NSW, the fine for illegal mobile phone use is $410, or $544 if detected in a school zone. There's also a penalty of five demerit points.

Victoria currently has eight mobile phone cameras – all of them mobile and situated on portable trailers – that can be deployed across more than 200 locations in rural and metropolitan areas.

The locations of these cameras are published monthly and can be found here.

In Victoria, you face a $593 fine with four demerit pointsif you're caught using a mobile phone while driving.

"Fixed and transportable mobile phone and seatbelt cameras are installed throughout Queensland," a Queensland Transport and Main Roads spokesperson told Drive.

"Their locations are based on where road crash injuries or fatalities have occurred where using a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt were contributing factors."

The Queensland transport authority does not publish the locations of its mobile phone detection cameras.

In Queensland, you can be fined $1209 and incur four demerit points if you're caught using a mobile phone while driving.

"Fixed mobile phone detection cameras are in operation at five sites across Adelaide," a South Australia Department for Infrastructure and Transport spokesperson told Drive.

"There are 13 cameras in total monitoring 13 lanes of traffic. Stage 2 in the second half of 2025 will involve two more sites and four cameras, with two lanes of traffic to be monitored at each site. This will mean a total of seven sites and 17 lanes monitored."

The cameras are currently operating with a three-month grace and education period that runs from 19June2024 to 18September2024.

A list of the locations of SA's mobile phone detection cameras can be found here.

From 18 September 2024 in South Australia, illegal mobile phone use while driving will result in a $556 fine (plus a $102 adult Victims of Crime levy) and three demerit points.

"There are five mobile phone camera set-ups in the ACT – two are fixed and three are mobile," an ACT Policing spokesperson told Drive.

Of the two fixed cameras, one is located on Hindmarsh Drive and the other is on Gungahlin Drive.

In the ACT, using your phone or similar device for messaging, social networking or accessing apps or the internet results in a $632 fine and four demerit points.

Using or holding your device for any other reason (unless it's secured in a cradle) attracts a $514 fine and three demerit points.

"Currently there are no mobile phone cameras in full operation in WA," a spokesperson for Western Australia's Road Safety Commission told Drive.

"We are, however, in the midst of the tender process to procure a number of mobile safety cameras. These cameras will be able to detect illegal use of mobile phones, people not wearing seatbelts or not wearing them properly and speeding."

In WA, using your phone to make, receive or end a voice call (while not in a cradle) attracts a fine of $500 and three demerit points.

Meanwhile, WA drivers found to be using their phone to create, send, or look at a text, email, social media, photo, video or similar face a fine of $1000 and five demerit points.

"Of Tasmania’s fleet of 16 mobile traffic detection cameras, four have mobile phone use detection capability," a Tasmanian Department of State Growth spokesperson told Drive.

That means Tasmania has four transportable mobile phone detection cameras currently in use.

In Tasmania, illegal phone use while driving results in a $404 fine and three demerit points.

The locations of Tasmania's portable mobile phone detection cameras are not listed.

"NT Police are currently reviewing the possibility of mobile use cameras in the Territory," a Northern Territory Police spokesperson told Drive.

While mobile phone detection cameras are not in operation in the NT, drivers still face a penalty of $500 and three demerit points for illegal mobile phone use while behind the wheel.