Despite Bunnings’ previous breach of privacy laws surrounding facial recognition, the hardware giant’s managing director believes the technology is the way forward for retail.

Last year Carly Kind, Privacy Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, found Bunnings had breached the Privacy Act by capturing the faces of every person who entered 63 stores in Victoria and NSW between November 2018 and 2021.

Now Bunnings MD Michael Schneider has called for Australia’s privacy laws to be changed to allow the use of facial recognition in stores to reduce shoplifting and protect staff.

In a submission to a Productivity Commission review, Schneider refuted Kind’s ruling, saying that facial recognition technology could be used safely, responsibly and ethically.

“These technologies are essential to protecting team members and customers from rising incidents of violent and threatening behaviour across the retail sector, and other losses that come from retail crime,” he said.

Bunnings later released a video compilation of staff being attacked in its stores to illustrate the threats retail workers faced.

Schneider said Bunnings was concerned with the “evolving interpretation of privacy regulations”, which appeared to prioritise prescriptive compliance over balanced outcomes.

“Regulators should focus on providing clear guidance and direction to give businesses confidence to act,” he said.

Surveillance in stores remains a divisive issue in Australia, with concerns around the privacy rights of shoppers.

Facial recognition technology is also widespread in Australian stadiums and venues, while Amazon is pushing for it to be used in transactions.

Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys were reported to the Privacy Commissioner by consumer group Choice in 2023 after an investigation found the widespread “capturing the biometric data of their customers” throughout retail stores.

“We know the Australian community has been shocked and angered by the use of facial recognition technology in a number of settings, including sporting and concert venues, pubs and clubs, and big retailers like Bunnings,” Rafi Alam, Choice senior policy adviser said after Kind’s decision last year.

Schneider said Bunnings disagreed with the finding that facial recognition interfered with individuals’ privacy.

He said Bunnings had experienced a 50 per cent rise in abusive and threatening incidents in its stores in recent years and “up to 60 to 70 per cent of incidents are caused by a small group of repeat offenders”.

Dr Suelette Dreyfus, a researcher of privacy issues at University of Melbourne, told The New Daily last year that the Privacy Commissioner’s ruling could be seen as a warning for retailers that planned to introduce in-store facial recognition.

“With this ruling, the Privacy Commissioner has courageously stood up for privacy, effectively saying companies shouldn’t use a technology against consumers just because it happens to exist,” she said.

“Sometimes that technology crosses a line, in this case the right to privacy, and it’s up to the government to rein in how the technology is used in order to protect us all.”