An Australian training group used by major retailers is under police investigation after allegedly turning staff laptops into covert recording devices while they worked from home.

According to an investigation first reported by The Australian Financial Review, compliance training provider Safetrac secretly recorded employees’ conversations and screens for weeks using software from US-based monitoring firm Teramind.

The recordings allegedly captured not just Teams meetings but also private conversations held within range of the laptops.

The Victorian-based company has admitted in legal documents that the surveillance took place, arguing it was deployed to manage underperforming staff.

Safetrac, founded in 1999 as a MinterEllison subsidiary, is one of Australia’s leading providers of compliance training. Its customers include some of the country’s biggest corporate names such as Wesfarmers, Mitsubishi, David Jones, Country Road, Canon, IKWA and Netcash.

Safetrac claims workers had consented under its surveillance policy, though employees who spoke to the AFR dispute this and say they were unaware their microphones were activated for up to 10 hours a day.

Image Credit: AFR

The fallout has been swift. Two employees who raised privacy concerns were locked out of company systems and later sacked, prompting unfair dismissal claims and complaints to police, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, and workplace health and safety regulators.

In one case, WorkCover has already accepted that the surveillance contributed to anxiety and depression.

Victoria Police has confirmed it received a report last month and is investigating potential criminal offences under the state’s strict surveillance laws. Privacy experts warn the case highlights how regulation has failed to keep pace with monitoring technologies in remote work environments.

The controversy also comes as workplace surveillance becomes a flashpoint in industrial relations.

With AI and remote monitoring tools increasingly deployed to track productivity, unions are pushing for stronger safeguards to prevent excessive or unreasonable monitoring of employees at home.

Both the NSW and Victorian governments are considering reforms that would tighten employer obligations.

Safetrac has defended its practices, insisting they served a “legitimate business purpose” and were within the law.

But the company has since altered its monitoring policies to specify what technologies are being used and limit surveillance hours.

The case is expected to escalate further, with mediation scheduled at the Fair Work Commission over allegations that the company unlawfully dismissed workers for exercising their right to complain about the surveillance.