Australia is weighing what officials describe as a possible WORLD-FIRST curb on CAMERA-equipped SMART GLASSES inside Commonwealth workplaces. Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has asked the Australian Public Service Commission for advice on whether the devices should be PROHIBITED in some settings, and what EXEMPTIONS would cover legitimate uses, according to ABC News, Reuters, and The Canberra Times.
What Canberra Is Asking
Gallagher framed the request as GUIDANCE for a model employer, not a finished STATUTE. “Smart glasses can raise legitimate PRIVACY and SECURITY concerns, particularly because of their ability to RECORD and CAPTURE information, and we need clear and consistent guidance for public servants,” she said, as quoted by ABC and Reuters.
The review sits inside a wider AI package: consultation on national standards for DATA CENTRES and frontier-model TRAINING (open until OCTOBER 9), an employer ROUND TABLE on workplace AI, and AI themes in next week’s 2026 Intergenerational Report. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tied the glasses question to DIGITAL SAFETY as he prepared U.S. and United Nations talks, saying Australia wants to “shape the AI age rather than simply responding to it.”
Not an Import Ban
Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has RESISTED calls to ban IMPORTS outright, citing ACCESSIBILITY. She told the ABC that some people, including those who are VISION IMPAIRED, use the devices for legitimate reasons and that an across-the-board product ban would neglect those uses. The live question is workplace RULES inside Commonwealth buildings, service centres, and similar federal settings—not a nationwide retail freeze.
Councils Already Moving
Local governments have already drawn narrower lines. The Canberra Times reports bans or restrictions at facilities such as PUBLIC POOLS in Brisbane, the City of Yarra, and Canterbury-Bankstown, with ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne calling the technology “CREEPY” in some public contexts while the territory MONITORS neighbors. Yass Valley Council has also floated a ban. Those venue rules are easier to write than a whole-of-service POLICY, which is why Gallagher’s APSC request matters.
Global Context for Wearables
Reuters notes Oslo banned smart glasses in SCHOOLS last month, and England and Wales have barred Meta smart glasses in COURTS. France’s Paris prosecutors opened a probe into smart-glasses recording this month. Australia’s pitch is different: a FEDERAL WORKPLACE standard that could arrive before Meta Connect (SEPTEMBER 23–24) pours more attention on Luna, Phoenix, and Muse-class AI eyewear.
For XR product teams, the SIGNAL is regulatory SPLIT. Camera-free designs already rumored for Meta’s Luna line sit more comfortably beside workplace bans than always-on capture. Accessibility exemptions keep MEDICAL and ASSISTIVE use in play. What Canberra decides will not ship a SKU—but it will shape where camera glasses can be worn on the job, and how loudly PRIVACY agencies set the floor before Connect’s keynotes land.