“The use of real-time biometric image matching in public spaces by WA police really is the cherry sitting on top of the surveillance state cake."

The rollout of FRT will involve marked police vans patrolling crowded areas and large events, scanning the faces of members of the public in real time.

Under Western Australian law biometric information is protected via a public/private sector framework, which means such information – such as facial scans – requires strict consent for its collection, as well as mandatory Privacy Impact Assessments.

The EFA, however, contends that since the new WA Information Privacy Principles won’t come into effect until July, WA Police has rolled out the new technology in an effort to avoid looming privacy regulations.

Given that consideration, the EFA us calling upon WA Police to answer several of questions:

• Did WA Police consult with the WA Information Commissioner, and what was their advice?
• How is express consent being collected from members of the public?
• Has a mandatory Privacy Impact Assessment been undertaken and published for public scrutiny?
• Have WA Police demonstrated that scanning the public's faces is both necessary and proportionate?
• Has a human rights impact assessment been conducted?

"This is an outrageous act of police overreach and a fundamental breach of our individual and collective human and digital rights,” the EFA said.