AI Monitoring at Work Australia: What Your Employer Can and Can't Track in 2026

AI-powered workplace monitoring has expanded dramatically since the shift to remote and hybrid work. Australian employers now deploy tools that track keystrokes and mouse movements, capture periodic screenshots, monitor email and chat communications, record time spent on applications and websites, use GPS to track location during work hours, and analyse facial expressions during video calls. Companies like Teramind, Hubstaff, ActivTrak, and Time Doctor are widely used across Australian businesses.

Some employers use AI to generate productivity scores, flag 'disengaged' behaviour, or predict which employees are likely to resign. This level of monitoring raises serious questions under Australian privacy and surveillance law — and the legal landscape varies significantly between states and territories.

New South Wales has the most comprehensive workplace surveillance legislation in Australia. The Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) requires employers to give employees at least 14 days written notice before commencing surveillance using cameras, computer monitoring software, or GPS tracking. The notice must specify the kind of surveillance, how it will be carried out, when it will start, and whether it will be continuous or intermittent.

Covert surveillance is only permitted with the authority of a Covert Surveillance Order from a magistrate, and only when the employer reasonably suspects unlawful activity. Blocking email monitoring without notice, secretly recording keystrokes, or installing hidden cameras in NSW is a criminal offence carrying penalties of up to $5,500 for individuals and $27,500 for corporations per offence.

Victoria doesn't have specific workplace surveillance legislation, but the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) prohibits the use of listening devices, optical surveillance devices, and tracking devices without consent. Effectively, employers cannot secretly record private conversations or install hidden cameras. Queensland similarly relies on the Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld), which restricts listening devices.

Western Australia's Surveillance Devices Act 1998 covers listening, optical, and tracking devices. South Australia's Surveillance Devices Act 2016 is broadly similar.

Quick version: Tasmania and the territories follow comparable frameworks. The key gap across all jurisdictions outside NSW is that computer monitoring — keystrokes, screenshots, application tracking — is largely unregulated by specific surveillance legislation, falling instead under general privacy principles and employment contract terms.

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) apply to organisations with annual turnover above $3 million, as well as health service providers and some small businesses that opt in. Under APP 3, employers can only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for their functions. Under APP 5, they must notify employees about what information is collected and why.

Under APP 6, personal information can only be used for the purpose it was collected. AI monitoring tools that hoover up vast amounts of employee data may breach these principles if the data collection goes beyond what is reasonably necessary.

Quick version: The Attorney-General's Department Privacy Act Review (2023) recommended expanding coverage to all businesses, which would significantly increase protections for employees of small businesses currently exempt.

Yes, but with important limitations. Remote work does not give employers unlimited surveillance rights. The same state surveillance laws apply regardless of whether you're in the office or at home.

In NSW, employers must still provide 14 days notice before monitoring your computer activity. Across all states, employers cannot use surveillance to access personal devices, monitor activity outside work hours, or capture private information unrelated to work.

If your employer requires you to install monitoring software on a personal device, you may be entitled to refuse unless your employment contract specifically requires it. The Fair Work Act's general protections provisions also prevent employers from taking adverse action against employees who raise concerns about surveillance practices. Check your employment contract and any workplace policies for monitoring clauses.

If you believe your employer is conducting surveillance without proper notice or beyond legal limits, you've several options. First, review your employment contract, workplace policies, and any notices you've received about monitoring. Check whether your employer has complied with the notice requirements in your state.

You can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) if you believe there has been a breach of the Privacy Act. In NSW, you can report breaches of the Workplace Surveillance Act to NSW Industrial Relations.

You can also raise the issue internally, and your employer can't take adverse action against you for doing so — this is protected under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. Union members should contact their delegate or organiser for advice.