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ARTICLE · 22 OCTOBER 2025

Surveillance Crackdown: Retailers Falling Foul of Privacy Concerns

Clifford Gouldson Lawyers
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As a business owner, your treatment of customer's personal and sensitive information is extremely important.

AustraliaPrivacy
Ben Gouldson
Ben Gouldson
Eve Gellatly
Eve Gellatly
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Recent decisions show retailers should be cautious with how they use video surveillance of their customers.

In September this year, Australia's Privacy Commissioner made a determination that Kmart Australia Limited had breached the privacy of Australians with its undisclosed use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). From June 2020 to July 2022, Kmart utilised FRT across nearly 30 locations in an effort to combat fraudulent returns. Following the Commissioner's finding against Bunnings Group Limited for similar FRT usage in November last year, this decision may indicate a crackdown on privacy breaches in the retail sector.

Breach

Kmart was found to contravene the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) in three main ways:

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