Privacy Code of Practice
Retailers around the globe are implementing RFID 
as a means to automatically identify goods moving through their supply chain. In the future this new technology may also be used to make the check out process within retail stores more efficient. Prior to the tagging of individual consumer items and RFID readers operating at the front end of retail stores, some matters need to be addressed. One in particular being the relationship of this new technology to consumer's privacy.
To address this, the "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in Retail Consumer Privacy Code of Practice" has been developed to assist retailers implement the technology. The Code of Practice has been developed with several leading retailers, consumer representation, retail industry associations, manufacturers and solution providers and is chaired by GS1 Australia.
The Code of Practice is based on the EPCglobal public policy document "EPCglobal Guidelines on EPC for Consumer Products" which contains four principles for implementing RFID systems at retail Point of Sale (POS) . It was created after surveying consumers and is designed to put into place practices which address feedback received during this time.
The principles the Code is based on are:
- Consumer Notice - of when RFID was being used
- Consumer Choice - if they wanted the RFID tag to remain active after purchase
- Consumer Education - of the benefits of RFID
- Record Use, Retention and Security - to ensure the consumer's privacy is protected
More information
The Privacy Code of Practice is Managed by the Australia Retailers Assocation (ARA). All enquiries should be made via the ARA.
