Calls to strengthen workplace privacy in Australia as employers turn to AI to track staff

Employers in Australia are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology to monitor staff in various workplaces, such as factories, offices, delivery jobs, and retail, often without employees' knowledge, according to a report from the Human Technology Institute. The institute has warned that the use of monitoring tools, including CCTV, card swipes, keystroke monitoring, and tracking workplace instant messaging, is on the rise.

A report released on Tuesday by the University of Technology Sydney highlights Microsoft Teams as a common platform for surveillance, which automatically updates workers' locations when they connect to the company's WiFi.

At a large fast-food chain, young employees expressed concerns about cameras installed in change rooms to prevent phone usage during work hours. As a result, these employees stopped using the change rooms. Similarly, a supermarket cashier received a final written warning from an AI monitoring system for making errors at a rate of 0.18%, or roughly one error per 533 items scanned.

The institute has called for the federal government to incorporate privacy protections into workplace laws, as exemptions in the Privacy Act have allowed surveillance practices to grow. A poll conducted in March 2026 found that 43% of Australians were aware that some employers use technology and AI to monitor workers, but only 9% were aware that monitoring occurred in their workplace.

Co-director of the Human Technology Institute, Prof Edward Santow, emphasized the need for transparency in workplace surveillance and suggested that the Fair Work Act should be revised to ensure that monitoring practices are fair and reasonable. The institute recommended that the Fair Work Minister be granted powers to prohibit certain surveillance products posing an unacceptable risk to workers' rights, particularly in light of the increasing use of smart glasses in the workplace.

The institute also proposed the establishment of a dedicated complaints scheme within the Fair Work Commission for employees to make privacy-related complaints. The institute will present its findings to the joint standing committee on artificial intelligence, which will focus on AI in the workplace during its third week of hearings.