28 August 2026
Blind Citizens Australia is aware of emerging proposals to restrict the importation of wearable recording devices. We welcome efforts to address covert recording and protect privacy, and we encourage Parliament to ensure that any regulatory framework also protects the rights and independence of Australians who are blind or vision impaired.
Recent concerns about low-cost smart glasses and other covert recording devices have highlighted the need for strong protection against surreptitious filming. Blind Citizens Australia supports proportionate measures that prevent misuse, while emphasising the importance of clear and workable exemptions for people who use these technologies for accessibility.
For many people who are blind or vision impaired, a wearable camera is not primarily a recording device. It functions as an input to an accessibility system, enabling access to visual information in real time.
Smart glasses can support safe navigation, identification of objects, reading signs and labels, understanding surroundings, and obtaining visual descriptions through artificial intelligence or remote sighted assistance. These uses are overt, visible and publicly recognisable, and they are fundamentally different from covert recording.
Restrictions aimed at preventing covert recording should be carefully designed so they do not inadvertently limit access to camera-enabled glasses used by people who are blind or vision impaired for disability-related purposes. Any exemptions for legitimate accessibility uses should be clear and sufficiently broad to accommodate the ways these technologies are actually used.
Blind Citizens Australia also cautions against defining disability aids too narrowly. Mainstream consumer technologies frequently evolve into vital accessibility tools, as smartphones have done. Regulations should remain flexible and future-proof enough to accommodate emerging technologies that support independence and inclusion.
Privacy and disability rights can and should be protected together. We encourage Parliament to ensure that any regulatory framework preserves access to non-covert, accessibility focused smart glasses technologies while addressing legitimate concerns about surreptitious recording.
Blind Citizens Australia stands ready to work with all interested parliamentarians and stakeholders to ensure that reforms are effective, balanced and inclusive.
Media Contact:
Amila Dedovic – Communications Coordinator
amila.dedovic@bca.org.au
0403 967 406