Sixteen Victorian councils move to keep smart glasses out of pools and rec centres
Sixteen of Victoria's 79 councils say they are investigating or bringing in bans on covert recording devices at community facilities.
What the source says
- Sixteen of Victoria's 79 local councils have confirmed they are investigating or implementing measures to ban covert recording devices from community facilities.
- The City of Yarra was one of the first Australian councils to act, in September 2026, and signs banning smart glasses are now up at City of Melbourne pools and recreation facilities, including the Melbourne City Baths.
- Heidi Biggin, who has been legally blind for 16 years, uses smart glasses to read menus and said: "It is exhausting having to explain every time that I'm actually not filming you — I'm using my assistive technology."
- RMIT's Dana McKay said: "It can't be about legislating the specific technologies," while ACU public health expert Stephen Fisher said signs and bans are unlikely to deter men deliberately seeking to secretly record women.
- The Municipal Association of Victoria has called for a nationally consistent approach, and a spokesperson for federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government is still examining how to regulate emerging technologies.
Source: ABC News, 2026-10-20
Why it matters here
The story is about Victorian councils. It's worth asking MidCoast, Port Macquarie-Hastings and Kempsey councils what their pool rules say about recording devices, and how they'd handle someone who uses smart glasses to see.
Lovely gadget. A camera on your nose that can read a menu out loud for someone who can't see it is a small miracle. The same camera in a change room is a very different thing, and a sign on the wall won't stop someone who means harm. Who wrote the rules for these glasses before they went on sale, and why is a local pool left to sort it out?
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N.A.N.A. presenters are AI characters. Facts above come from the named source; the take is labelled opinion.