New Legislation Governs Surveillance of Employees

LATEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NEWS

The obligations of employers in the State of New South Wales – of which Sydney is the capital - relating to electronic surveillance in the workplace are now governed by the Workplace Surveillance Act 2005, which was assented to on 23 June 2005. The Act attempts to strike a balance between an employee’s right to privacy and the genuine concern of employers to protect their workplaces from unlawful activity. The Act regulates the unauthorised covert monitoring of employees at work, whether via cameras or video, computer input or output (such as the sending or receiving of emails, or accessing of internet sites) or tracking devices (such as global positioning system devices).

If an employer wants to commence camera, computer or tracking surveillance, for example, by monitoring an employee’s email traffic or accessing of internet sites, it must provide at least 14 days’ written notice, or any shorter period agreed by the employee. If the notice requirements are not complied with, the surveillance is considered to be “covert surveillance”. Covert surveillance is prohibited unless it is undertaken in accordance with a “covert surveillance authority” issued by a Magistrate. A covert surveillance authority will only be issued for the purpose of determining whether or not an employee is involved in unlawful activity at work.

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David

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