Australia urged to tighten privacy rules as workplace surveillance expands

Australia’s Human Technology Institute is calling for stronger workplace privacy protections as employers increasingly use technology, including AI, to monitor staff. It says surveillance is spreading across industries, often without workers knowing, and that current legal exemptions have allowed it to grow.

Examples include a supermarket cashier receiving a final written warning after an AI system flagged errors on roughly one in 533 scans, and young fast-food staff avoiding change rooms amid concerns about cameras. A March 2026 poll found 43% of Australians knew some employers used technology to monitor workers, but only 9% knew it was used in their own workplace. The institute proposes a Fair Work Act test for whether monitoring is fair and reasonable, employee consultation, a complaints scheme and powers to restrict tools that pose unacceptable risks.