Facial Recognition Ticketing Raises Privacy Concerns at AFL Venues
Geelong Cats and other Australian sports venues began offering facial recognition for ticketing through Wicket technology, allowing fans to use facial scans instead of traditional tickets. Privacy advocates raised concerns about whether the consent process meets Australian law standards for sensitive biometric information, particularly regarding loyalty point incentives that may pressure opt-in despite being nominally optional.
What happened
Geelong Cats introduced facial authentication as an optional 'express lane' entry method for club members at GMHBA Stadium, requiring members to upload a selfie for facial verification at entry gates.
Other AFL clubs are reportedly in active discussions with US-based provider Wicket about implementing the same technology, and the Australian Open has offered facial recognition entry through Ticketmaster since 2024.
Reported impact
Privacy advocates raised concerns about informed consent requirements under Australian privacy law, which classifies facial images as 'sensitive information' requiring informed consent for collection.
Questions were raised about whether loyalty point incentives (40 points offered to Geelong members) could pressure fans to consent to facial data collection despite the technology being optional.
Index analysis
Under Australian law, facial images are classified as sensitive information requiring informed, voluntary, and withdrawable consent. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner found in 2024 that Bunnings breached privacy law by failing to obtain informed consent for collecting facial data.
While facial authentication at AFL venues is entirely optional with opt-out capability, the provision of loyalty point incentives raises questions about whether incentives create pressure that undermines meaningful consent.
Governance controls
Wicket stated the technology is not used to track people inside venues and operates only at entry points to reduce congestion.
Venue operators determine whether to deploy the technology, and Ticketmaster confirmed it is up to individual venues to decide usage.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.