What evidence did Bunnings present to the tribunal?

Bunnings presented evidence from store managers detailing frequent threatening or abusive behavior from customers, highlighting the need for safety measures.

Did the tribunal find Bunnings breached privacy rules?

While the tribunal allowed the use of facial recognition, it agreed that Bunnings had not properly notified customers about their faces being scanned.

Home / Crime and Justice / Bunnings Wins Facial Recognition Battle

Bunnings Wins Facial Recognition Battle

Q: Can Bunnings use facial recognition technology in its stores?

Yes, the administrative review tribunal has allowed Bunnings to use facial recognition technology in its stores to combat crime and protect staff and customers from violence and abuse.

5 Feb

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Summary

Tribunal allows Bunnings to use facial recognition to deter crime.
Ruling reverses prior privacy commissioner's decision.
Store managers testified about frequent customer abuse and threats.

Hardware giant Bunnings has received approval to use facial recognition technology in its stores to combat crime and protect its employees and customers. The administrative review tribunal overturned a 2024 ruling by the Australian privacy commissioner that had previously found Bunnings breached privacy regulations by scanning customers' faces. The tribunal acknowledged that Bunnings had not adequately notified visitors about the data collection.

Between January 2019 and November 2021, Bunnings deployed this technology across 62 stores in New South Wales and Victoria. The system scanned hundreds of thousands of faces, comparing them against a watchlist of individuals banned from stores. Store managers testified about the regular occurrence of threatening and abusive customer behavior, with one manager detailing incidents every two to three days that left staff visibly shaken.

The tribunal ruled that Bunnings was justified in using the technology for the "limited purpose of combatting very significant retail crime and protecting their staff and customers from violence, abuse and intimidation." While acknowledging occasional false positives, the tribunal noted these were manually reviewed and that Bunnings' system reportedly showed no racial bias. Bunnings has accepted feedback to improve customer signage regarding data collection.