AI-powered facial recognition, CCTV watch lists and body-worn cameras for all security guards are under consideration at the University of Sydney in a move that has been likened to George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 .
A draft video surveillance policy shows the nation’s oldest university is contemplating using the technology for “recording details of access” and “identifying people involved in relevant conduct” under a shake-up of security operations.
The proposed changes, which the university says are designed to tackle theft and threats of violence, come against a backdrop of increasingly strained relations between the university and student activists.
Tensions over antisemitism and how to manage pro-Palestinian activism have remained high since the months-long encampment took hold on the grounds in 2024, while the university’s embrace of AI has been polarising and staff have twice walked off the job in the past few months.
The draft policy said artificial intelligence would be used for facial recognition, with a human also required to verify the match for “action is taken”.
A university spokesperson said facial recognition featuring AI would be used under very limited circumstances and “generally related to ongoing theft or specific threats of violence” when an individual was added to a watch list within the CCTV system.
“The cameras will then send an alert to security when that individual enters campus grounds,” they said.
University ID photographs will not be fed into the CCTV system, the spokesperson said.
Staff and students were consulted over the proposed changes and 188 submissions were made. The university said it would revise the policy to address some of the questions raised.
The university says the move to introduce body-worn cameras, like those used by police, was in response to the university watchdog’s 2025 message to universities that they must “strengthen how they manage risks ... including potential risks associated with people from outside accessing our campuses”.
TEQSA encouraged universities to make those changes after the encampments supporting Palestine that gripped some of Australia’s universities in 2024.
“It’s like 1984 ,” said the Student Representative Council’s Lucas Pierce, who will on Thursday convene a forum protesting the university’s controversial new ChatGPT deal.
“The university has a tradition of activism and politics, it has a history of movements and campaigns. It’s a reputation that the university actively tries to foster in some ways, at least in their PR. But this proves otherwise,” Pierce said.
“At the front of the quadrangle is a plaque commemorating the Freedom Ride, but what is really happening today is the university is trying to repress what is happening on campus, particularly around activism for Palestine.”
The university said that it remained committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, but had “an obligation to foster a safe, respectful and inclusive environment”.
“This new policy alongside our other measures will strengthen our ability to achieve that.”
Antisemitism on campus and activism for Palestine have been major flashpoints for the university’s relations with the broader community since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
The university was the site of Australia’s first encampment supporting the Palestinian cause in 2024 which ended after nine weeks and put vice-chancellor Mark Scott under immense political pressure.
Later that year, the university banned camping and protesting in buildings and was slammed as a “full-scale offensive” on students’ rights . There was also a proposed “civility rule” that would require staff and students to make their intended meaning clear when using phrases like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. That did not eventuate.
At the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion this year, Scott apologised to Jewish students and staff.
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