Surveillance Technologies Policy

Local councils need to talk about how they’re approaching surveillance. As a council, you need to have answers about how recordings are stored, your stance on location-tracking software and the use of drones, body worn cameras and fauna cams. Currently, councils are undertaking activities that could be classified as surveillance without even realising it. 

A 2018 report by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) found that only one council could demonstrate that privacy had been considered in a decision to install new CCTV cameras in a public place. And there was very little evidence of community consultations being undertaken. What can local governments do to ensure that they’re accessing, maintaining and storing surveillance data in an appropriate way?

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Local Government Information Governance (LGIG) Committee engaged us to run a workshop to consider these very questions. We’re grateful to participants from the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner, Public Record Office Victoria, Department of Justice & Community Safety, and VAGO who attended the workshop to share their expertise on the topics of surveillance technologies and records management.

We’re taking the learnings from the day to turn them into a policy guide which will cover all types of surveillance technologies (audio, visual, data and location tracking) as well as the regulatory domains of recordkeeping, privacy, freedom of information, data security and copyright.

Local governments need to demonstrate to their locals that they are doing better. Does your council need a more robust policy approach to surveillance? Are there questions about surveillance data that you can’t answer? Get in touch with us on 0425 317 770 or send us an email at  Votar@votar.com.au

We’re proud to partner with the LGIG Committee, whose work aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of information governance and records management.