Australian workers tracked by AI tools in offices and factories without consent, report warns

Workplace Surveillance

Australian employers are using AI and digital tools like CCTV, keystroke monitoring, and card swipe tracking to watch workers across factories, retail stores, delivery jobs, and offices, often without telling them. A report released on Tuesday by the Human Technology Institute at the University of Technology Sydney reveals that surveillance is growing rapidly due to artificial intelligence. Examples include a fast-food restaurant using cameras to stop phone use and a supermarket cashier receiving a final written warning after an AI system flagged an error rate of just 0.18%, which equals roughly one mistake for every 533 items scanned. Microsoft Teams was also highlighted for rolling out a tool that automatically tracks worker locations via office wifi. A March 2026 Minderoo-commissioned poll found that while 43% of Australians know companies use tech to monitor staff, only 9% think it happens in their own workplace.

Legal Changes Proposed

The institute wants the federal government to fix gaps in the Privacy Act and update the Fair Work Act so that employee monitoring must pass a fairness test. Institute co-director Professor Edward Santow stated that transparency is not enough and called for rules to make sure tracking is fair and reasonable. The report also suggests giving the minister power to ban high-risk products like smartglasses that could secretly watch workers, while letting staff file privacy complaints with the Fair Work Commission.

Context

Surveillance laws in many places struggle to keep pace with rapid advances in workplace technology and artificial intelligence. Privacy exemptions for small businesses and employee records have historically left staff with fewer legal protections on the job. Public hearings on this issue are currently taking place before a joint parliamentary inquiry into artificial intelligence.