Australia urged to strengthen workplace privacy as employers turn to AI monitoring

The Human Technology Institute at UTS Sydney called on Australia's federal government to build privacy protections into workplace law as employers increasingly use CCTV, keystroke monitoring and AI to track staff, often without their knowledge. The report cites Microsoft Teams location tracking and AI flagging a cashier over a 0.18% error rate.

• 43% of Australians know employers use AI monitoring, but only 9% know of it in their own workplace
• A supermarket cashier got a warning over a 0.18% error rate, about one per 533 scans
• The institute wants a Fair Work Act test and powers to ban risky surveillance products
• At one fast-food chain cameras in change rooms deterred staff from using them