En resumen
- Queensland's mobile phone and seatbelt cameras photograph every passing vehicle, including the front seats. Some are fixed and run around the clock; portable ones move between urban and regional sites.[1]
- Software screens the images for a driver using a phone or a driver or front passenger not wearing a belt. Only images it flags go to an authorised officer, who decides whether a fine is issued.[1]
- At the time of writing (November 2026), illegal phone use and each seatbelt offence carry a $1,295 fine and 4 demerit points.[4]
- A belt worn under the arm, or a phone resting in your lap, counts as an offence even if you're stopped at lights.[3][2]
- A second phone or seatbelt offence within a year scores double points.[5]
How do Queensland's phone and seatbelt cameras work?
The cameras take several pictures of each vehicle that passes: one set shows the number plate, another looks down into the front seats.[1] The Queensland Government says they're placed where crashes causing death or injury have involved phone use or people not wearing seatbelts, and that enforcement can happen anywhere, at any time, on Queensland roads.[1]
| Type | How it's used |
|---|---|
| Fixed[1] | Mounted on existing roadside structures and operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| Portable[1] | Set up for shorter periods at random urban and regional locations |
The government doesn't publish a list of camera sites on its camera page, so the practical advice is simple: assume any stretch of road can have one, and treat the phone and belt rules as always enforced.[1]
Who looks at the photos, and what about privacy?
Every image is first filtered by artificial intelligence software looking for two things: a driver possibly using a phone, and a driver or front-seat passenger possibly not wearing a seatbelt. Images where the software finds nothing are excluded from further analysis and deleted.[1]
Images it does flag are sent to the Queensland Revenue Office, where an authorised officer reviews each one and decides whether an offence happened and whether an infringement notice goes out. A computer doesn't issue the fine on its own.[1]
On privacy, the government says the cameras don't capture or analyse biometric data, so people aren't identified that way, and only authorised staff view the pictures. The program works with the Office of the Information Commissioner, and two independent privacy impact assessments have been carried out.[1]
What counts as illegal phone use?
Holding the phone in your hand while driving is illegal, and so is having it rest on any part of your body, such as your lap or shoulder. That applies while you're stopped in traffic or at lights, and the phone doesn't even need to be switched on.[2] What you may do depends on your licence:
- Open and P2 licences: you may touch the phone for hands-free functions, such as navigation, answering a call or skipping a song, only if it sits in a cradle fixed to the car and doesn't block your view of the road. A phone in a pocket or pouch may be used by voice only, without touching or looking at it.[2]
- Learners and P1 drivers: no hands-free, headset or loudspeaker use at all, and passengers of learner and P1 drivers can't use loudspeaker mode either.[2]
- Interstate and overseas licences: follow the Queensland rules for the equivalent licence type, plus any conditions from the place that issued your licence.[2]
There are narrow exceptions. Once safely stopped you may hold the phone to pay for something, get into a car park, show a digital licence to police who ask for it, or take a card out of a phone wallet for those purposes. Once safely parked, meaning stopped with the intention of staying, you may use it normally.[2] Even legal hands-free use can be fined if you aren't in proper control of the car or driving with due care and attention.[2]
Which seatbelt mistakes do the cameras pick up?
Everyone in a car must wear a correctly adjusted and fastened belt for the whole trip, including while stopped at lights. Children up to 7 need an approved child restraint; from 7 they wear a correctly fitted belt.[3] "Correctly" matters, because the cameras look at the front seats and an incorrectly worn belt is an offence too:[3][1]
- The shoulder strap should cross the chest and the lap part sit low across the pelvis. A strap tucked under the arm can be fined.[3]
- A reclined seat doesn't excuse you: the belt must still cross the shoulder and chest.[3]
- Twisted, loose or frayed belts are worth checking before you set off.[3]
Passengers aged 16 or over can be fined personally, and the driver can be fined for each passenger who isn't restrained or is restrained incorrectly. For passengers under 16, responsibility sits with the driver, and failing to make sure they're belted in brings double demerit points.[3] A passenger with a medical exemption must carry a current exemption certificate (form F2690) signed by a doctor; registering it with the department is advised but doesn't always stop a camera infringement being issued.[3]
How much are the fines and demerit points?
Fines rose 3.5% on 1 July 2026 under the government's indexation policy. At the time of writing (November 2026) the schedule lists:[4]
| Offence | Points | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Driver using a mobile phone (other than in a parked vehicle)[4] | 4 | $1,295 |
| Driver not wearing a seatbelt[4] | 4 | $1,295 |
| Passenger aged 16 or over not wearing a seatbelt[4] | 4 | $1,295 |
| Driver failing to make sure a passenger under 16 is restrained[4] | 4 | $1,295 |
Phone offences and driver seatbelt offences are in the groups that attract double demerit points: a second offence in the same group within a year of an earlier one scores twice the points. On an open licence, two phone offences in a year come to 8 points.[5] How the doubling works, and why Queensland doesn't have holiday double-demerit periods, is in double demerits in Queensland.
What happens if a camera catches you in a rental car?
A camera fine is addressed to the vehicle's registered owner, which for a hire car is the rental company. Under clause 10 of our rental terms, camera fines incurred during your rental are your responsibility. Fines that reach Rentzy are recharged to you weekly with the A$55 admin fee per fine, or nominated to you as the driver where the law allows.
If you want to challenge a camera fine in court, the deadline is 28 days from the date of the infringement notice, and you shouldn't pay it while you dispute it.[6] Because a hire car fine can take time to reach the company and then you, tell us straight away if you think a notice is wrong, so there's time to act.
Speeding and red-light cameras are a separate system; amounts and points for speeding are in speeding fines and demerit points in Queensland, and the rules a visitor most often misses are in Queensland road rules for visitors.
Fuentes
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Mobile phone and seatbelt cameras (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Driving and mobile phones (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Seatbelt rules (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Demerit points schedule (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Double demerit points (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au): Dispute a fine (consultado el 5 de noviembre de 2026)
Escrito por el Equipo de Rentzy de Rentzy Car Rentals. Los precios, tarifas y normas de Rentzy que aparecen en esta guía proceden de nuestras condiciones publicadas y se actualizan con ellas; las normas fijadas por otros (carreteras, peajes, permisos, transporte) proceden de las páginas oficiales indicadas arriba, tal como se consultaron en las fechas que se muestran. ¿Hay algo desactualizado? Avísanos.
