Bunnings to install facial recognition tech in NZ stores as it prepares Australian rollout

Bunnings will introduce facial recognition technology to combat retail crime in its New Zealand stores within weeks while preparing the ground for a longer-term Australian rollout.

With new figures showing theft and aggression against staff still rising sharply, the hardware giant plans to trial FRT in two of its 51 New Zealand stores from next month with the expectation of pushing out the controversial technology across the country.

“We have been very clear on how important it is to us and how urgent the need is for our team members,” Bunnings chief executive Mike Schneider told The Nightly on Friday.

The New Zealand rollout will help inform Bunnings’ plans for FRT in Australia after last month’s successful appeal of a 2024 decision by the Australian Privacy Commissioner the hardware giant’s limited trial of the technology three years earlier had breached privacy laws.

The ruling by the Australian Review Tribunal had created an expectation that Bunnings would quickly roll out FRT across Australia.

Instead, the Wesfarmers-owned business has opted for a measured approach, mindful that while the review tribunal found its use of FRT was justified to help fight store crime and protect staff, it had failed to properly inform customers that their images were being captured.

“I would anticipate we would have some clarity on a pathway within the next six months,” Mr Schneider said.

“Six months may become eight or nine months, but we also don’t want to say this may happen in the next two or three years.

“We are keen to roll this out as quickly as possible.

“But it if takes longer for us to get it right, so be it.”

Bunnings’ trial of FRT used CCTV to capture the facial images of everyone entering its stores, comparing them against a database of people who were banned — or involved in previous abuse. If there was a match, security staff were notified. If there was no match, the data was processed and almost immediately deleted.

The technology is now considered a key weapon in the fight against the escalating rates of retail crime since COVID-19.

Mr Schneider said the incidence of theft and violence in Bunnings’ 450 Australian stores was still rising at more than 10 per cent a year. In the first seven months of the 2026 financial year alone, there were more than 20,000 incidents, or 90 a day.

Australian Retail Council chief executive Chris Rodwell said there was an “increasing appetite” for the technology amongst retailers.

“We ‘re committed to ensuring there are clear, practical, nationally consistent frameworks so retailers, governments and the community can have confidence the technology is being deployed responsibly to protect workers while safeguarding the privacy of law-abiding shoppers,” Mr Rodwell said.

“It’s essential this sits alongside dedicated retail crime police taskforces, stronger penalties for repeat offenders, and measures . . . that prevent known offenders from returning to stores.”

But retail expert Gary Mortimer from Queensland University of Technology said he feared that FRT could just force retail offenders to migrate to smaller and easier targets.

“My concern would be that once criminals know that it’s incredibly difficult to enter a large retail business because they’ll be detected, they will naturally migrate to smaller independent retailers that may be less protected,” Mr Mortimer said.

“I still think there’s a lot more work to do when it comes to retail theft and retail crime, and that just simply comes back to resourcing and policing.”