Issuing fines for mobile phone and seatbelt offences using artificial intelligence (AI) could be in breach of privacy laws, according to an investigation by the Queensland Audit Office (QAO).
The sunshine state’s revenue from traffic fines tripled to $464.3 million last financial year, but a QAO report has raised concerns that the use of AI to determine whether motorists should be fined based on images from detection cameras could be in breach of privacy laws.
It said infringements may have been (and continue to be) issued unfairly, pointing to concerns over inaccurate image recognition, privacy of drivers as well as passengers, and inadequate image handling and storage.
Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has some of the highest traffic penalties nationally – including an increase to $1209 and four demerit points for mobile phone use in July 2025 – but the QAO said it failed to identify the risks and lacked oversight of its AI systems.
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The QAO said TMR’s current risk mitigation process wasn’t sufficient to ensure that AI tech does not breach privacy regulations – even with human review of potential infringements before fines are issued.
In fact, the TMR’s mobile phone and seatbelt camera program had not been through the required ethical risk assessment as part of the Queensland state government sector’s ethical use of AI policy for all departments.
AI systems including the one employed in Queensland analyse images from cameras to determine whether a fine should be issued, and their introduction has led to a significant increase in penalties for drivers.
They were first used in Australia in 2020, when New South Wales began using the tech, and have been rolled out across most Australian states since then, with AI ‘turned on’ nationally on July 1, 2025.
Yet AI-based decisions have seen innocent drivers incorrectly issued with fines not only in Queensland, but also NSW and other states – as well as New York in the US.
The QAO report also said there was little oversight on how AI was used between government departments, in another potential breach of privacy laws.
“The privacy of Queenslanders is something we take extremely seriously,” said the state transport minister Brent Mickelberg in response.
“TMR has already commenced implementing the Queensland Audit Office’s recommendations and have [sic] developed a new AI Strategic Roadmap to ensure stronger oversight and protections.”
Despite record numbers of traffic fines and record levels of revenue generated by them in the state, Queensland’s road toll increased by 9.0 per cent to 302 deaths last year, contributing to the deadliest year on Australian roads in more than a decade in 2024.
So far in 2025, 206 deaths have been recorded in the state, up 4.6 per cent year-on-year.
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