UPDATED: A major Australian retailer is defying rulings by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and is once again using facial recognition and covert surveillance cameras to identify thieves in its Victorian stores, ChannelNews can reveal.

A senior executive from the retailer — who asked not to be named — said the company is “fed up” with escalating levels of theft and violence in Victoria and has decided to take matters into its own hands.

“What we have is a woke Victorian Government that’s more interested in votes than in protecting retailers,” the executive said.

ChannelNews is not naming the retailer or the executive because we support the use of FRT in retail stores as a means to identify thieves that are hurting one of Australia’s largest industries.

Victoria has recorded a 30 per cent surge in retail crime, according to law enforcement data, with national chains such as IGA, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Myer reporting the highest crime rates of any Australian state.

Earlier this year, Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind found that Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys breached privacy laws by using facial recognition technology (FRT) without obtaining customers’ consent.

Kind ruled that Kmart’s use of the technology was “disproportionate” and that “the sensitive information of every customer who entered a relevant store was indiscriminately collected”.

But the retailer executive told ChannelNews that the Commissioner’s ruling ignored the views of the “honest majority”.

“What Kind failed to take into account is how many shoppers actually want this technology in stores,” they said. “These are the honest people who need protection — not the criminals carrying knives and threatening our staff.”

Retailers Demand Action

The retailer’s move comes as leading Australian retail bosses — including Woolworths’ Amanda Bardwell, Coles’ Leah Weckert, Ikea’s Mirja Viinanen, Myer’s Olivia Wirth, Kmart’s Aleksandra Spaseska, 7-Eleven’s Fiona Hayes and Bunnings’ Mike Schneider — call for urgent government intervention to tackle the crisis.

In a joint letter sent to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, Police Minister Anthony Carbines, and Economic Growth Minister Danny Pearson, the industry’s biggest names warn of an “unacceptable” escalation in theft and violence.

“Without urgent action from the Victorian Government, these already alarming trends will continue to worsen,” they wrote. “This will further impact the safety of retail workers, the viability of businesses, and community confidence across the state.”

The letter, co-signed by the Australian Retailers Association, National Retail Association and 20 major retail executives, outlines key reforms:

A dedicated Police Taskforce for Retail Crime – modelled on South Australia’s Operation Measure – to strengthen enforcement and intelligence-sharing.

Workplace Protection Orders – new legislation allowing courts to ban repeat offenders from retail premises.

An Online Crime Reporting system – to streamline reporting and improve data accuracy, similar to NSW’s 2016 model.

Violence and Theft on the Rise

Retailers report increasingly aggressive behaviour from offenders, including assaults, knife threats and organised shoplifting.

“The people the Commissioner is protecting are often the ones carrying weapons,” one executive said.

According to the Australian Retailers Association, Victoria Police recorded more than 82,000 retail crime incidents last year, a 27.6 per cent increase on the previous year. Threatening events surged 52 per cent, and serious incidents rose 38 per cent, making Victoria the most crime-affected state in Australia.

A recent Monash University study found 27 per cent of Victorians believe it is acceptable to steal from retailers, highlighting what researchers called a “normalisation of theft”.

Coles boss Leah Weckert even claimed that crime syndicates are stealing premium cuts of meat to sell to restaurants.

Privacy vs. Protection

The Victorian Government has been accused by retail leaders of “bowing to woke bureaucrats” by restricting the use of facial recognition and other surveillance technologies.

“Innocent people have no issue with being recorded — they know it keeps them and our staff safe,” said one executive.

Retailers argue that technology like FRT acts as a strong deterrent, not a privacy threat. But the Privacy Commissioner has maintained that such surveillance must comply with national privacy principles and obtain explicit consent.

As the standoff deepens, one thing is clear: the retail sector believes Victoria’s approach to crime is broken — and some companies are now willing to risk controversy to reclaim control of their stores.

The retail chain now using FRT technology is not in the CE or appliance retail market.

Earlier today after news of the retailers letter to the struggling Victorian Government broke Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan suddenly claimed that there will be more meetings with the retail sector this week.

She also tipped new legislation that is set to go before parliament to crack down on blatant stealing and to protect staff amid a state retail crime wave.

Ms Allan told 3AW radio on Wednesday it was “absolutely disgraceful” and unacceptable the abuse and threats retail workers were facing, with criminals sometimes flooding stores en masse to strip the shelves.

Tough new bail laws had seen more people put on remand and she will soon introduce legislation into parliament to have stronger protection for retail workers and greater powers for police.

Missing was the availability of additional resources for Victorian Police who appear to be under resourced a situation that criminal gangs in Victorian appear to be aware of claim observers.