AI lifeguard cameras at Liverpool leisure centre pool could be breaking surveillance laws, expert says

New AI lifeguard cameras designed to monitor swimmers could be breaking the laws, according to experts.

The AI cameras installed at a Liverpool leisure centre in Sydney’s west were designed to assist lifeguards watch and warn for swimmers in distress, however they could also be breaching New South Wales surveillance laws.

The council has become the latest to adopt the technology, which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor swimmers in real time and has been implemented at pools across the country.

But Avinash Singh, principal lawyer at Sydney law firm Astor Legal, is sounding the alarm about potential privacy violations.

“Under Section 9 of the Surveillance Devices Act, there’s a restriction on using any sort of tracking technology to track people,” Singh said.

“From what Liverpool Council have said about what is happening with these cameras, it’s not merely the cameras are recording people. They’re using some sort of AI technology in there to track people while they’re in the location.”

Singh said the council needs to inform people and obtain their consent before using the tracking devices.

While the council has reportedly installed signs indicating CCTV cameras are in use, Singh said there’s no mention of tracking technology being used.

When asked about potential solutions, Singh said clearly visible signage mentioning tracking could allow the council to argue implied consent, but signing a waiver would be the better option.

“If they did put clearly visible signage up, that may be able to mount an argument that there’s implied consent,” he said.

“But definitely the better option would be to get them to actually sign something.”

Last year an AI camera at Stirling Leisure in the northern Perth suburb of Inglewood, detected a swimmer suffering a medical episode in the pool.

Lifeguards were sent an urgent alert as a fellow swimmer rescued the man in distress and then helped get the struggling swimmer to the water’s edge, thanks to the alert.

The AI technology is also used at Gould Adams Park Aquatic Centre in Queensland and has also rolled out at more pools across the country.