Woolworths, Coles, Aldi: No plans to use facial recognition technology

Update 25/07/22 3:00pm

An earlier version of this article stated that Bunnings and Kmart refused to stop using facial recognition technology. It has been updated to reflect their decision to pause use following mounting pressure from CHOICE supporters and extensive community backlash. 

In June, a CHOICE investigation revealed that Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys were using controversial and invasive facial recognition technology in some of their stores for the stated purposes of loss prevention, safety and security.

Australia’s privacy watchdog, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), has launched an investigation into Kmart and Bunnings ‘personal information handling practices’ following our complaint. The Good Guys have already stopped using facial recognition while the investigation is underway, but Kmart and Bunnings had refused to back down until now. 

Our recent poll of 16,000 CHOICE supporters showed that 80% of people want Kmart and Bunnings to stop using facial recognition. We’ve heard from many people who’d like to know which retailers are not using facial recognition technology and have no plans to introduce it, so that they can shop knowing their biometric information is not being captured by facial recognition cameras. 

We contacted the 25 retailers in our initial investigation again to ask them to commit to not introducing facial recognition in their stores. While some left our calls unanswered, 17 retailers, including major supermarket chains, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi, agreed to the statement: 

We are not using facial recognition in stores and we have no plans to introduce it.

This commitment will be widely welcomed by shoppers, who’ve made it clear in our supporter poll and the many emails and calls our team have received, that use of such invasive biometric technology is not welcome in retail stores. The full list of retailers who are not using facial recognition technology in stores is below. 

Retailers who might use facial recognition in store 

	Kmart paused facial recognition in stores.
	Bunnings paused facial recognition in stores.
	The Good Guys paused facial recognition in stores.

Retailers not using facial recognition

	Woolworths is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Coles is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Aldi is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Target is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Big W is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Myer is not using facial recognition in stores.
	David Jones is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Officeworks is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Dan Murphys is not using facial recognition in stores.
	BWS is not using facial recognition in stores.
	First Choice Liquor is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Liquorland is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Vintage Cellars is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Rebel is not using facial recognition in stores.
	BCF is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Supercheap Auto is not using facial recognition in stores.
	Macpac is not using facial recognition in stores.

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Kate

Kate worked at CHOICE from 2016–2024. She initially joined as a fact-checker and verifier – a role in which she was able to transfer her skills from her previous career in academia and qualitative health research to ensuring CHOICE publishes the highest quality information and data. She then spent three years with the Money and Travel team working behind the scenes as a data analyst on insurance comparisons and articles. She was proudly part of the team that built CHOICE's independent and comprehensive health insurance comparison tool that has ensured thousands of Australians have the right level of health insurance cover without getting ripped off. During her time with the Money and Travel team, she led the digital transformation of data collection for our insurance comparisons by implementing robotic process automation – a change necessitated by the rapid transformation of insurance along with other financial services. In that role, she saw firsthand how businesses are using increasingly sophisticated technologies to design, personalise and price their products and services – and not always to the benefit of their customers. That's why she went on to take on the role of consumer data advocate in the Consumer Data team.  Before CHOICE, she worked as an academic at the University of Technology, Sydney where she gained a Doctor of Philosophy. She also has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tasmania, with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales. You can connect with Kate on LinkedIn.

Kate worked at CHOICE from 2016–2024. She initially joined as a fact-checker and verifier – a role in which she was able to transfer her skills from her previous career in academia and qualitative health research to ensuring CHOICE publishes the highest quality information and data. She then spent three years with the Money and Travel team working behind the scenes as a data analyst on insurance comparisons and articles. She was proudly part of the team that built CHOICE's independent and comprehensive health insurance comparison tool that has ensured thousands of Australians have the right level of health insurance cover without getting ripped off. During her time with the Money and Travel team, she led the digital transformation of data collection for our insurance comparisons by implementing robotic process automation – a change necessitated by the rapid transformation of insurance along with other financial services. In that role, she saw firsthand how businesses are using increasingly sophisticated technologies to design, personalise and price their products and services – and not always to the benefit of their customers. That's why she went on to take on the role of consumer data advocate in the Consumer Data team.  Before CHOICE, she worked as an academic at the University of Technology, Sydney where she gained a Doctor of Philosophy. She also has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tasmania, with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales. You can connect with Kate on LinkedIn.

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