The Latest Breaking News from Bunnings

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner examining whether use of the technology is consistent with privacy laws

You walk into a shopping centre to buy some groceries. Without your knowledge, an electronic scan of your face is taken by in-store surveillance cameras and stored in an online database. Each time you return to that store, your “faceprint” is compared with those of people wanted for shoplifting or…

I'm going to scream.

A report from consumer advocacy group CHOICE prompts the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to investigate whether retail giants Kmart and Bunnings are breaching privacy laws with their use of facial recognition technology.

The price of a sausage and bread at Bunnings' iconic sizzles are to increase for the first time in 15 years from Saturday.

Information commissioner will look into the personal information handling practices of the retail giants

Down tools: The former Bunnings was converted into a large scale vaccination centre but it's time to close.

Kmart and Bunnings will keep using controversial in-store facial recognition technology, despite another major retailer abandoning it amid a privacy probe.

Experts say there is a "huge gap" in laws surrounding facial recognition programs, potentially exposing Australians to data harvesting or being wrongly identified as criminals.

Once the purview of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, facial recognition is now being used to identify consumers in Australian stores.

Consumer group CHOICE is referring Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner over their use of facial recognition technology.