Every AI camera fine that lands in a NSW letterbox has, so far, been checked by a human before it was posted. Transport for NSW is now shopping for a new system, and the tender wording has drivers and traffic lawyers reading very closely.
The agency has a Request for Proposal open on the NSW Government's buy.nsw portal for what it calls the Future Automated Enforcement System, or FAES. Responses close on 11 August 2026. Coverage of the tender has run alongside a 7NEWS figure putting revenue from AI-assisted mobile phone and seatbelt cameras at more than $400 million.
Dylan Anderson
What the NSW AI camera tender actually asks for
The listing says the new platform needs to handle enforcement sites, incident processing, adjudication, enforcement actions and reporting across the state.
The line that has drawn attention is a requirement for configurable workflows, "including the ability to configure how automated and manual decision making is applied throughout the process". The listing also asks for efficiency gains through automation, AI-assisted decision-making and intelligent alerting.
Some coverage has read that as the human verification stage being scrapped. Transport for NSW says otherwise.
What Transport for NSW says about human review
Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray has pushed back on the idea that people are being cut out of the process.
Mr Murray said every seatbelt or mobile phone image flagged by AI as a likely offence is reviewed and verified by trained and authorised staff before a penalty notice is issued, and that "this process will not change". He also said the tender is not about adding further AI-linked enforcement and will not increase the number of offences detected.
The current process, as described by Transport for NSW, runs in stages. AI software scans every image and permanently deletes the ones showing no apparent offence, typically within an hour. Anything flagged goes to the camera vendor's trained staff, then to Transport officers, then to Revenue NSW for final adjudication.
Critics have pointed to the federal Robodebt scheme, later found unlawful, as the reason to be wary of stripping people out of automated decisions.
What it means for NSW drivers right now
Nothing changes today. Same cameras, same rules, same penalties.
Illegal mobile phone use in NSW carries a $434 fine, or $577 in a school zone, plus five demerit points. That doubles to 10 points during double demerit periods. Five points is more than a third of the way to the 13-point limit on a full licence, so a second offence inside three years starts to sting.
Camera enforcement of seatbelt offences began on 1 July 2024, using the same cameras that have been catching illegal phone use since March 2020. Transport for NSW says the network aims for at least 135 million vehicle checks a year.
If you get a fine you do not believe is right, you can ask Revenue NSW to review it, and take it to the NSW Local Court if that goes nowhere. The photo is the evidence, so it is worth a proper look before you pay.
Source: Transport for NSW, buy.nsw
Dylan Anderson
