Mandatory employee blood tests have prompted calls for a privacy law overhaul.

The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work has released a report highlighting a concerning trend where Australian employers are increasingly requiring potential employees to undergo blood tests as part of the recruitment process. 

This practice, conducted without providing clear justification, raises significant concerns about privacy, fairness, and potential discrimination.

The report, ‘No Blood - No Job’ (PDF), argues that the current privacy laws in Australia inadequately protect workers from such invasive demands. 

“Requiring workers to submit to blood analysis is just one example of how organisations are now routinely collecting sensitive information from workers, sometimes without adhering to the requirements of privacy laws,” it states. 

The findings of the report indicate that blood tests, among other forms of biometric data collection such as fingerprinting and facial recognition, are becoming routine in the workplace. 

These practices are often justified by employers as necessary to assess potential health risks that could impact job performance. 

However, the report points out that there is a fundamental imbalance of power in the employer-employee relationship, leaving workers with little choice but to comply with these demands if they wish to secure employment.

The Centre for Future Work’s report criticises this routine collection of sensitive personal information, emphasising that such practices should be the exception, not the norm. 

The report argues that the current legal framework fails to provide adequate protection for workers' privacy.

To address these concerns, the report proposes a worker-centric regulatory framework, which includes the establishment of a single system to protect the privacy of all workers, regardless of their employment status. 

This system would require employers to provide detailed justifications for the collection of any sensitive information and ensure that employees give informed and affirmative consent. 

Furthermore, the report advocates for the creation of a tripartite mechanism involving workers, employers, and regulators to manage privacy concerns and develop codes of conduct governing the use of workers' information.

“Now is the time to tackle this difficult issue and to mandate that organisations respect workers’ rights to have control over their personal and sensitive information,” the report says.  

With data breaches becoming more common and the use of AI in HR processes growing, the report underscores the urgent need for legislative reform to protect Australian workers.