Mobile phone detection cameras use an overhead infrared camera to photograph the front cabin of every passing car through the windscreen, then run the image through AI software before a person checks it. That two-step process still gets it wrong often enough that real drivers have had wrongly issued fines withdrawn — and one state has already had to rewrite its own rules after court challenges exposed a gap.
Check your mobile phone fine in minutes →Free case-strength check first — if your grounds are weak, we’ll tell you · one flat price, $10 parking & toll, $15 everything elseMobile phone detection cameras are mounted overhead — on poles, gantries or portable trailers — with a high-speed camera and an infrared flash that penetrates the windscreen. That lets them photograph a car's front cabin day or night, in any weather, at speeds up to 300km/h, without the driver seeing a visible flash. One provider's cameras reportedly capture more than 60,000 high-resolution images a day at a single site.
Every image then goes through the same two-step process, as NSW Transport describes it:
"Artificial intelligence software automatically reviews images and detects potential offending drivers. It excludes images of non-offending drivers from further action. Images that are likely to contain a mobile phone offence are then verified by trained personnel. Images rejected by the artificial intelligence are permanently and irretrievably deleted, typically within an hour of detection."
In plain terms: a computer does the first sift, and is supposed to throw away anything that doesn't look like an offence almost immediately. Only images the software flags as suspicious ever reach a human being — and that human review is the only check standing between a flagged image and a fine landing in your letterbox.
What started as a single "world-first" rollout in NSW in December 2019 is now nationwide. Mobile phone detection cameras operate in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction without them — its transport department has confirmed the rollout has been discussed but has no confirmed timeline.
Coverage keeps expanding: several states have layered seatbelt detection onto the same cameras, and enforcement budgets keep growing — Victoria alone has committed more than $150 million to expand its camera program through 2030.
The "AI flags it, a person checks it" process sounds reassuring, but it has failed in ways that are now on the public record.
A phone that was never on his lap. A Queensland driver, Anthony, was fined $1,161 and hit with four demerit points after a mobile phone detection camera near Brisbane allegedly caught him resting his phone on his lap. The two photos attached to his own infringement notice showed the opposite: his phone mounted on the windscreen in a Quad Lock holder — a setup that complies with Queensland's rules. He didn't pay, a journalist raised it with the Queensland Revenue Office on his behalf, and the fine was withdrawn.
A system fault, not a driving fault. In September 2023, the Queensland Government admitted a fault in its mobile-phone and seatbelt detection camera program had wrongly issued double demerit points to almost 2,000 motorists — leading to 626 licence suspensions that shouldn't have happened. The government said the cause was a human "input" error in how the program was set up, not anything the drivers did.
A law that hadn't caught up with the cameras. In South Australia, court cases exposed a gap between what the cameras were catching and what the regulations actually authorised: officers could review images for phone use, but the wording didn't clearly cover a phone resting on a driver's lap or body. After "thousands" of drivers challenged fines on that basis, the state government rewrote the regulations in 2026 to close the gap — an admission that the earlier fines were built on shakier legal ground than drivers were told.
None of this means most fines are wrong. It means the process has known failure points — a mismatch between the alleged offence and the photo, a software or data-entry fault, or a rule that was unclear at the time — and drivers who look closely and push back have had fines overturned as a result.
Before you pay, view the actual image on your state's photo portal (not just the written description on the notice) and check it against what the letter alleges:
Our free check walks you through exactly this, area by area — you tell us what you can actually see in your photo, only your answers go into your letter, and the image itself never leaves your device.
For most drivers the path is a free internal review with the issuing authority — not court. The shape of it is the same everywhere:
That last step is what Fight My Fine does for you. Answer a few plain-English questions, get a free read on how strong your grounds are — we'll tell you honestly if they're weak — then get an editable letter addressed to the right authority for your state. See how to dispute a mobile phone fine by state, or check current mobile phone fine amounts where you are.
A printable one-pager on what camera systems get wrong, exactly what to scrutinise in your image, how to build counter-evidence, and how to lodge a free review. Pop in your email and it's yours.
An overhead camera with an infrared flash photographs the front cabin of every passing vehicle through the windscreen, day or night, in any weather. AI software scans each image for signs of phone use. NSW Transport says images that don't show an offence are excluded and deleted, typically within an hour, while images that look like an offence are sent to a trained person to verify before any fine is issued.
Every state and territory except the Northern Territory now operates mobile phone detection cameras in some form — NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. The NT has discussed a rollout but has no confirmed timeline.
Yes. Documented cases include a Queensland driver fined for a phone "on his lap" when the camera's own photos showed it mounted on his windscreen, and a 2023 Queensland system fault that wrongly issued double demerits to almost 2,000 drivers. South Australia also had to change its laws in 2026 after court cases exposed ambiguity in how the cameras were used to fine drivers for a phone resting on their body.
One flat price per letter: $10 for parking and unpaid-toll fines, $15 for all other fine types. No percentage of your fine. There is a free case-strength check before you pay, so if your grounds are weak we tell you first.
Fight My Fine is a self-help tool, not a law firm, and this article is general information, not legal advice. Outcomes depend on your circumstances and the issuing authority's decision — nothing here is a prediction or guarantee. Statistics are drawn from the sources listed above. For serious matters or court, speak with a qualified lawyer or a free legal service.