Bunnings, a hardware giant, has been allowed to use facial recognition technology on customers to prevent crime. The administrative review tribunal (ART) reversed a 2024 ruling by the Australian privacy commissioner that had found Bunnings breached privacy rules. The tribunal said Bunnings can use the tech to fight serious retail crime and protect staff and customers from violence. However, it also ruled that Bunnings did not properly notify customers that their faces were being scanned. Between January 2019 and November 2021, Bunnings scanned faces in 62 stores across New South Wales and Victoria. They compared scanned faces against images of banned people. If no match was found, the image was deleted. Store managers from Box Hill and Broadmeadows told the ART about frequent violence in stores. Box Hill manager Shawn Adam said threats and abuse happened every two to three days, leaving staff upset and worried. Bunnings' national security manager, Alexander MacDonald, said many offenders were repeat and organised criminals. The top 10% of offenders accounted for at least 66% of theft losses yearly. The tribunal noted some false positives from the facial recognition system, but staff manually checked and removed them. MacDonald added the system showed no racial bias, despite studies warning about it. The tribunal found that Bunnings’ signs and entry notices did not meet the rules on informing customers about scanning. Bunnings’ managing director, Mike Schneider, welcomed the decision, saying safety is a top priority. He added, "Our intent in trialling this technology was to help protect people from violence, abuse, serious criminal conduct and organised retail crime." Bunnings accepted the tribunal’s feedback on improving signage. The office of the Australian information commissioner (OAIC) said the decision shows the Privacy Act protects individuals, with limited exceptions. The OAIC is still considering whether to appeal the ruling.