Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry Recommends Further Restrictions on Workplace Surveillance

A parliamentary inquiry by the Economy and Infrastructure Committee (the Committee) led by Labor MP Alison Marchant (the Inquiry) has found that laws governing workplace surveillance are outdated.

The Inquiry asserts that recent technological advancements as well as the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which have seen workers shift to remote working has led to an increase in the use of workplace surveillance by employers. New technologies including telephone recordings, cameras, keylogging and the use of artificial intelligence are being more commonly utilised to monitor employees, with the Inquiry alleging that both Victorian State law and Federal legislation have failed to keep pace with these changes.

The Inquiry states that many workers are unaware of the extent of the surveillance they are subject to, how much surveillance data is stored, and how the data is handled. As such, the Committee has handed down several recommendations to assist the Victorian Government in bringing the State’s privacy and surveillance laws up to date.

Findings

The Inquiry made 29 key findings regarding the impact of current workplace surveillance technologies on employees and the current state of the law in Victoria. The Inquiry found that workers were being subject extensive means of workplace surveillance, with employers failing to be transparent concerning the extent of surveillance and use of data. It was also found that employers were increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to process the data captured from surveillance.

Concerning the impact of workplace surveillance on employees, it was found that despite the utilisation of surveillance methods to track and monitor the productivity of workers, there proved little positive impact. In fact, the Inquiry found that due to the intrusive nature of these technologies, workplace surveillance had a profoundly negative impact on employee productivity, with consequences arising from its use including a loss of trust in management and reduced job satisfaction, leading to disengagement and higher staff turnover. It was also found that due to the increased pressure arising from such monitoring, workers’ physical and mental health was negatively impacted.

It was also found that employers were ill-equipped to deal with the sensitive information obtained through such surveillance. The Inquiry also found that employers were overly reliant on artificial intelligence to gather data and assess employee performance. However, the Inquiry found that despite its widespread use, artificial intelligence proved to be susceptible to errors including bias and unfair results, which was exacerbated in cases where there was no element of human involvement in the decision-making process.

Recommendations

The Committee proposed a total of 18 recommendations to the Victorian Parliament which would improve the legislation concerning privacy and provide additional protections to employees, to compensate for the current power imbalance.

These recommendations include:

• Introducing technology neutral legislation to ensure regulation stays up to date despite the rapidly transforming technology landscape;
• Placing a positive obligation on employers to prove through a risk assessment that surveillance conducted is “reasonable, necessary and proportionate to achieve a stated legitimate objective”;
• Imposing an obligation on employers to conduct a human review of surveillance data that could “significantly affect rights, interests or employment status of worker”;
• Requiring any employer that conducts workplace surveillance to have a relevant policy which is accessible to all employees; and
• Introducing a requirement that employers must give employees access to workplace surveillance data generated about them on request.

Key Takeaways

With the Committees final report tabled on 13 May 2025 it will be interesting to see which recommendations are incorporated into Victorian legislation. Employers should remain cautious of workplace surveillance methods and ensure such surveillance is reasonable and necessary.

If you have any questions about the Inquiry and what it could mean for you as an employee or an employer, please do not hesitate to contact Nick Stevens, Josh Hoggett, Evelyn Rivera or Ayla Hutchison.