The Western Australian government is trialling Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology across the state, with the Australian Retail Council (ARC) welcoming the news.
This comes after Kmart and Bunnings were caught up in a review by the Privacy Commissioner over their use of facial recognition technology between 2020 and 2022 to help crack down on retail crime – particularly refund fraud.
The ARC called the LFR trialling an encouraging step towards the responsible use of suspect matching technology, with the potential to help protect frontline retail workers and customers from known, high-harm repeat offenders.
The WA government did not specify exactly where LFR will be deployed, only noting places like Perth CBD, Maitland and other jurisdictions.
“All deployments are overt and will occur in public spaces where LFR has the greatest potential to assist the WA Police Force in fulfilling its operational duties,” the WA government shared.
This comes as around 800,000 retail crime incidents were recorded across Australia in 2024, according to the ARC, with one in five of these events involving threats, aggression, intimidation, harassment or other serious behaviours.
The peak body added that just 10 per cent of offenders are responsible for around 60 per cent of all retail crime incidents, with repeat offenders up to four times more likely to be violent.
Independent national polling commissioned by the ARC also shows Australians strongly support the targeted use of suspect matching technology in situations involving genuine safety risks.
Eight in ten (81 per cent) support its use to identify individuals who have previously threatened retail staff with a weapon, with 80 per cent supporting its use to identify people who have physically assaulted retail workers or customers.
The ARC added that retailers are keen to see the practical lessons from the WA trial extended to responsible suspect matching technology in retail settings, ultimately leading to a nationally consistent framework that can be adopted across Australian retail locations.
“Western Australia should be commended for taking a proactive approach to protecting retail workers,” ARC CEO Chris Rodwell said.
“Stronger penalties for assaults on retail workers, the introduction of legislation to establish Retail Barring Orders and now the trial of suspect matching technology recognise that protecting frontline workers requires a range of practical measures.”
Rodwell added that suspect-matching technology isn’t about tracking shoppers or building databases of customers. “It’s only about identifying a small group of known, high-harm repeat offenders responsible for a disproportionate amount of retail crime before another retail worker gets hurt.”
According to the WA government, the technology does not store biometric data that does not generate an alert, while details of any alerts are retained, to be used in an investigation of an offence or complain.
No data is shared with third parties.
The ARC shared that responsible deployment and strong privacy protections are not competing objectives, but go hand in hand.
“We want to work constructively with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, governments, unions and community representatives to develop a clear national framework that gives retailers, workers and the community confidence about how suspect matching technology should be used,” Rodwell said.
“Every retail worker deserves to finish their shift and return home safely, every day. Technology won’t solve retail crime on its own, but used responsibly it can become another important tool in preventing violence before it occurs.”