Tracking device laws need tightening in light of their use in domestic abuse, researchers find

The number of cases of tracking devices and bluetooth tags being used for criminal activity are escalating. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)

Grant Killen often receives phone calls from women who cannot help shake the feeling they are being watched.

Mr Killen runs Concentric Concepts, a surveillance security company that works with Queensland Police and domestic violence organisations.

The former police officer said he was often asked to sweep cars for signs of GPS tracking devices which could be used to monitor a person's movements.

"They're cheap, they're easy to get, you can order one in China and it can be in your mail within four or five days," Mr Killen said.

"The changes in technology are so fast that we can't keep up, and the imagination of perpetrators using these technologies can be quite outlandish."

Lack of regulation

Griffith University applied ethics and cybersecurity researcher David Tuffley said there was a lack of regulation for tracking devices or bluetooth tags in Queensland and Australia.

"Quite clearly we do need to have law reform in the regulation of tracking devices," Dr Tuffley said.

"There's a widening gap between the regulations and what the capabilities of technology currently are and will be.

"Law reform has to be done right with all due diligence and not hurried, but that is fundamentally at odds with the pace that technology is evolving."

A NSW Crime Commission report released on Tuesday found many spy stores were "wilfully blind" to what their customers' intentions were for their tracking devices.

The report found nearly 40 per cent of customers who bought trackers from private investigators and spy stores were known to police for domestic violence or organised crime.

It found 82 per cent of tracking device offences were domestic violence related.

"Some private investigators and 'spy stores' promote the illegal use of surveillance devices and offer illegal surveillance services to customers," the report found.

Gaps in Queensland law

A Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) report handed down in 2020 noted there were "gaps and uncertainties" in the laws for surveillance devices in the state.

However, it noted it was difficult to regulate the industry given how widespread tracking technology was in everyday devices.

"The diversity and ubiquity of many multi-purpose technologies that are capable of being used as surveillance devices — including smartphones, drones and other smart devices and programs — makes it difficult to determine upstream actions based on the intended use or design of the device," the report read.

A Department of Justice and Attorney-General spokesperson said the government was considering the law reform commission's recommendations.

"The QLRC report recommendations are complex and remain under consideration by the Queensland government," the spokesperson said.

The government released a consultation paper regarding the implementation of the report in early May last year.

The consultation closed at the end of May 2023.

The spokesperson said the government had already adopted one of the report's key recommendations, which was banning the use of tracking devices on somebody without their consent.

The ban was included in the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023.

New ways to exert control

DVConnect clinical governance director Kelly Dingli said Queensland needed tighter regulation on tracking devices.

She said tracking devices were increasingly used by domestic violence perpetrators to monitor and control their partners.

She said emerging technology was always creating new ways for abusers to control their victims.

"This type of technology-facilitated abuse is present, to some degree, in almost every caller and woman we support at DVConnect," Dr Dingli said.

"It can start with seemingly benign actions, such as sharing bluetooth connections, excessive texting, then ramping up to demanding access to passwords and monitoring of social media and emails.

"There needs to be better regulation around use of these tracking devices, and it's something we as a society need to have more information about."

The NSW Crime Commission report recommends that the federal government work with industry to build anti-stalking measures on tracking devices and restrict the sale of devices without the features.

University of Queensland law researcher Alan Davidson said he supported this recommendation.

"That might sound like we might be over regulated, but there are too many abuses that I know of," Dr Davidson said.

"If you want to, you need to be able to protect your own privacy.

"The law is rarely proactive — they see a problem and they react."