# Australian Employers Increase AI Staff Tracking, Prompting Calls for Stronger Privacy Laws

> Australian employers are increasingly using Artificial Intelligence to monitor staff, leading to urgent demands for new workplace privacy regulations, even as a recent poll shows most workers are unaware of such practices in their own jobs.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-20T04:12:14.712731Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/australian-employers-increase-ai-staff-tracking-prompting-calls-for-stronger-privacy-laws-87a4c7ea

Australian employers are deploying Artificial Intelligence to track staff, prompting urgent calls for stronger workplace privacy regulations. Reports released in February and October 2026 by the University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Human Technology Institute (HTI) detail widespread use of these monitoring tools, even as a January 2026 poll found only 9% of Australians knew this technology was present in their own workplaces [1][7][8].

This rise in AI surveillance directly impacts Australian workers because current laws are described as outdated and complicated, failing to provide adequate protection against intrusive monitoring practices. The lack of transparency around these technologies can affect employee privacy, dignity, and trust in the workplace, making legal reform a pressing issue for labor rights across the country [1][7].

## What the records show

The UTS Human Technology Institute's "Snapshot Report, Surveillance Creep," released on February 27, 2026, and its "Drawing the Line" report, issued on October 20, 2026, highlight the extensive deployment of AI-powered monitoring tools across various industries [1][7]. These technologies include closed-circuit television (CCTV), keystroke logging, access card tracking, screen recording, facial recognition, productivity scoring, and location tracking. Some systems even use personal devices without what researchers describe as genuine consent [1].

Examples cited in the reports include a fast-food chain that allegedly used cameras in changing rooms and an AI system that flagged a supermarket cashier for a 0.18% error rate [1]. Microsoft Teams has also been noted for automatically updating a worker's location to 'in office' based on Wi-Fi connection [1].

A poll commissioned by the Minderoo Foundation, conducted from January 20-28, 2026, indicated that 43% of Australians were aware that some employers utilize technology for monitoring. However, a significant gap in transparency exists, with only 9% of respondents knowing it was in use in their own workplaces [1][8]. The survey also revealed that workers are particularly concerned about audio surveillance (72%), live-screen monitoring (71%), and emotion recognition (70%) [1][7].

## The timeline and legal landscape

Professor Edward Santow, Co-Director of HTI, stated that "Australian law is complicated and dangerously out of date," failing to adequately protect workers [1][7]. Senator Tony Sheldon acknowledged these "critical concerns about the impact of workplace surveillance on the privacy, health and dignity of working Australians" [1].

Australia's legal framework is fragmented, lacking a comprehensive national law specifically for AI. The federal Privacy Act 1988 contains exemptions for employee records, meaning certain aspects of employee data handling are not covered by its principles [1][9][10][11][12][13]. State laws, such as the New South Wales Workplace Surveillance Act, govern specific surveillance methods, often requiring employers to provide notice [1].

In December 2025, the Federal Government confirmed its intention to rely on existing laws rather than introduce mandatory AI-specific legislation [2][3][5]. However, the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 is set to introduce new transparency obligations for automated decision-making starting December 10, 2026 [1]. Separately, on July 15, 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced proposed Australian Standards for AI, which National Cabinet considered in August 2026, with legislation anticipated in early 2027 [3][5].

## What we could not confirm

This investigation could not confirm the specific names of companies implicated in the fast-food and supermarket examples of AI surveillance. The full scope and detailed provisions of the proposed AI legislation expected in early 2027 are also not yet publicly detailed in the records.

## Evidence cited
1. Calls to strengthen workplace privacy in Australia as employers turn to AI to track staff (www.theguardian.com) — https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/20/workplace-privacy-concerns-employers-use-ai-to-monitor-staff
2. Australian Government releases National AI Plan - The Legal 500 (legal500.com) — https://legal500.com/developments/thought-leadership/australian-government-releases-national-ai-plan/
3. AI Law: Global Guide - Australia (dlapiper.com) — https://www.dlapiper.com/en-au/insights/publications/2026/07/ai-law-global-guide/australia
4. Australia - National Policy and Strategies - Regulations.ai (regulations.ai) — https://regulations.ai/australia-ai-national-policy-and-strategies/
5. AI Governance and Law - Safe AI Australia (safeaiaus.org) — https://www.safeaiaus.org/ai-governance-and-law/
6. Policy for the responsible use of AI in government | digital.gov.au (digital.gov.au) — https://www.digital.gov.au/guidelines/ai-guidance-and-policy/policy-responsible-use-ai-government
7. Urgent law reform needed to protect Australian workers from AI-powered surveillance - UTS Newsroom (uts.edu.au) — https://www.uts.edu.au/news/business-and-law/urgent-law-reform-needed-protect-australian-workers-ai-powered-surveillance
8. Survey shows Australians want AI safeguards - Minderoo Foundation (minderoo.org) — https://www.minderoo.org/news/survey-shows-australians-want-ai-safeguards/
9. What Is The Employee Records Exemption? | Sprintlaw (sprintlaw.com.au) — https://sprintlaw.com.au/what-is-the-employee-records-exemption-and-does-it-apply-to-you/
10. Employee records (oaic.gov.au) — https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/employment/employee-records
11. Employee Records Exemption - privacy108 (privacy108.com.au) — https://privacy108.com.au/news/employee-records-exemption-and-subcontractors/
12. Your obligations as an employer in relation to your employee's personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)? (mackenzieworkplacelaw.com.au) — https://www.mackenzieworkplacelaw.com.au/blog/your-obligations-as-an-employer-in-relation-to-your-employees-personal-information-under-the-privacy-act-1988-cth#:~:text=The%20handling%20of%20personal%20information,privacy%20policy%20regardless.
13. Privacy Act Australia: What's Changing For Employers In 2026? - RosterElf (rosterelf.com) — https://www.rosterelf.com/resources/blog/privacy-act-australia-whats-changing-for-employers-in-2026/
14. OAIC releases guidance on automated decision-making transparency (wottonkearney.com.au) — https://www.wottonkearney.com.au/updates/oaic-releases-guidance-on-automated-decision-making-transparency/
15. Automated Decision-Making in Australia: New Obligations from December 2026 (cowellclarke.com.au) — https://www.cowellclarke.com.au/news/automated-decision-making-in-australia-new-obligations-from-december-2026/
16. Privacy Amendments 2024: Automated Decision-Making Systems | Vocare Law (vocarelaw.com.au) — https://vocarelaw.com.au/insight/privacy-amendments-2024-automated-decision-making-systems/
17. New guidance to support transparent use of automated decision-making (oaic.gov.au) — https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/news-media/media-releases/new-guidance-to-support-transparent-use-of-automated-decision-making
18. Public sector privacy policies to detail automated decisions by December 2026 (holdingredlich.com) — https://holdingredlich.com/insights/public-sector-privacy-policies-to-detail-automated-decisions-by-december-2026/
19. Workplace Surveillance Act NSW: An Employer Guide (safetyspace.co) — https://www.safetyspace.co/blogs/workplace-surveillance-act-nsw-employer-guide/
20. Workplace Surveillance in NSW: An Employer's Guide - The Legal 500 (legal500.com) — https://legal500.com/developments/thought-leadership/workplace-surveillance-in-nsw-an-employers-guide/
21. Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) Explained | Sprintlaw (sprintlaw.com.au) — https://sprintlaw.com.au/workplace-surveillance-act-2005-nsw/
22. New Tech - Unions NSW (unionsnsw.org.au) — https://unionsnsw.org.au/policy/new-tech/
23. Workplace Surveillance - Employer Obligations - Chamberlains Law Firm (chamberlains.com.au) — https://chamberlains.com.au/news/workplace-surveillance-employer-obligations/
24. Australian employers using AI to track workers without their knowledge, report warns (thenews.com.pk) — https://thenews.com.pk/latest/1231649-australian-employers-using-ai-to-track-workers-without-their-knowledge-report-warns
25. AI-powered worker surveillance outpacing Australian laws and causing harm, new report finds - UTS Newsroom (uts.edu.au) — https://www.uts.edu.au/news/technology-and-design/ai-powered-worker-surveillance-outpacing-australian-laws-and-causing
26. Financial Review on Instagram:  (instagram.com) — https://www.instagram.com/p/C4AHY_1h-3k/
27. AI Governance | Human Technology Institute (uts.edu.au) — https://www.uts.edu.au/research/human-technology-institute/our-work/ai-governance
28. Industry Insights Report 2026 | Global Relay (globalrelay.com) — https://www.globalrelay.com/resources/industry-insights-report-2026/
29. Workplace surveillance – are you breaking the law? - Keypoint Law (keypointlaw.com.au) — https://keypointlaw.com.au/2026/05/11/workplace-surveillance-are-you-breaking-the-law/
30. Workplace Surveillance: What Employers Need To Know - Mapien (mapien.com.au) — https://mapien.com.au/workplace-surveillance-what-employers-need-to-know/
31. Workplace Surveillance - Go To Court (gotocourt.com.au) — https://gotocourt.com.au/employment-law/workplace-surveillance/
32. Workplace Privacy Laws in Australia: What You Need to Know (workplacewizards.com.au) — https://workplacewizards.com.au/workplace-privacy-laws-in-australia/
33. Australia urges stronger worker privacy rules as AI surveillance spreads (dataist.ai) — https://www.dataist.ai/news/australia-urges-stronger-worker-privacy-rules-as-ai-surveillance-spreads
34. Parliament grills Amazon on AI monitoring of workers - Michael West (michaelwest.com.au) — https://www.michaelwest.com.au/parliament-grills-amazon-on-ai-monitoring-of-workers/
35. Being monitored at work? A new report calls for tougher workplace surveillance controls - Pursuit (unimelb.edu.au) — https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/research/2025/05/27/being-monitored-at-work-a-new-report-calls-for-tougher-workplace-surveillance-controls/
36. Parliamentary Transcript: ACCI on AI Integration and Regulation - October 9, 2026 - Vercel (vercel.app) — https://vercel.app/blog/parliamentary-transcript-acci-ai-integration-and-regulation-october-9-2026
37. Australian employers using AI to track workers without their knowledge, report warns (eia.media) — https://eia.media/australian-employers-using-ai-to-track-workers-without-their-knowledge-report-warns/
38. AI Policy for the Workplace - BDC Partners (bdcpartners.com.au) — https://bdcpartners.com.au/ai-policy-for-the-workplace/
39. AI wearables in the workplace: Australian legal update (hsfkramer.com) — https://hsfkramer.com/insights/ai-wearables-in-the-workplace-australian-legal-update/
40. Australian Employment Law and Employee Monitoring - Employee Monitoring (employee-monitoring.net) — https://employee-monitoring.net/australian-employment-law-and-employee-monitoring/
41. Responsible AI Australia (responsibleaiaustralia.com.au) — https://responsibleaiaustralia.com.au/
42. White & Case (whitecase.com) — https://whitecase.com/
43. Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers (gtlaw.com.au) — https://gtlaw.com.au/
44. Computer Services (computer-services.com.au) — https://computer-services.com.au/
45. Code Xcelerate (codexcelerate.me) — https://codexcelerate.me/
46. Vocare Law (vocarelaw.com.au) — https://vocarelaw.com.au/
47. Cowell Clarke (cowellclarke.com.au) — https://cowellclarke.com.au/
48. Holding Redlich (holdingredlich.com) — https://holdingredlich.com/
49. Certrak (certrak.com.au) — https://certrak.com.au/
50. DMAW Lawyers (dmawlawyers.com.au) — https://dmawlawyers.com.au/
51. OAIC (oaic.gov.au) — https://oaic.gov.au/
52. Virtuelle Group (virtuellegroup.com.au) — https://virtuellegroup.com.au/