UTS institute urges Australia to require a fairness test for workplace surveillance

Australian employers should have to show that workplace monitoring is fair and reasonable, not simply tell staff they are being watched. That is the central proposal in a new report from the University of Technology Sydney’s Human Technology Institute, which warns that AI is accelerating employee surveillance, according to the Guardian.

The institute wants privacy protections written into workplace law. It argues that exemptions in Australia’s Privacy Act covering employee records and small businesses have allowed surveillance to grow. Its recommendations would address both the decision to introduce monitoring and employees’ ability to challenge it afterward.

Notice would not be enough

Institute co-director Prof Edward Santow described transparency as “necessary but far from sufficient”. He called for the Fair Work Act to include a test of whether introducing workplace monitoring is appropriate. The proposed standard would require scrutiny of whether monitoring is fair and reasonable, rather than treating disclosure as sufficient protection.

The proposed protections

• Employee involvement: Require employers to engage with staff about surveillance they intend to introduce and improve the quality of consent obtained from employees. That would make consultation part of the proposed workplace protections.
• A complaints route: Create a dedicated scheme through which employees could bring privacy-related complaints to the Fair Work Commission, giving workplace privacy disputes a specific channel for review.
• Limits on products: Give a minister powers to prohibit surveillance products that pose an unacceptable risk to workers’ rights. The recommendation concerns whether certain tools should be permitted at all.

Smartglasses could pose unacceptable risks to workers’ rights, the report warns. It points to federal government concern about their growing use and says the devices could enable covert workplace monitoring.

A March 2026 Minderoo-commissioned poll, cited by the Guardian, found a gap between general awareness and knowledge of monitoring at respondents’ own workplaces. These figures measure awareness, not how widespread workplace surveillance actually is.

43%Aware some employers monitor staff

Australians aware that some employers use technology, including AI, to monitor workers.

9%Aware of monitoring at their workplace

Australians aware that monitoring was used in their own workplace.

From recording activity to disciplining workers

Workplace monitoring spans factories, offices, delivery work and retail, often without employees’ knowledge, the report says. Employers can track card swipes, keyboard activity and workplace instant messages, as well as use cameras. The issue affects workers across industries.

Researchers heard that young employees at an unnamed large fast-food chain feared their employer had installed cameras in changing rooms to stop staff using phones at work. They said young people avoided those rooms as a result. The account reflects employees’ concerns; it does not confirm cameras were installed.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association told a parliamentary inquiry that a supermarket cashier received a final written warning after an AI system flagged too many errors. The union put the error rate at 0.18%; that figure was not an independent assessment of the cashier’s performance.

The recommendations go to Parliament

The institute is due to present its findings to the parliamentary AI committee on October 20, as hearings turn to AI in the workplace. Several unions are also scheduled to appear that week. The privacy changes are recommendations from the institute, not adopted government policy.