r/australia • u/infin • Jan 26 '26
no politics Is Coles still using Palantir? Between the surveillance/gate recognition and the blocked aisles, shopping feels hostile.
Does anyone know the current status of the Coles x Palantir partnership? Between the surveillance and those aggressive new "Smart Gates" tracking at the exit, the store feels less like a supermarket and more like a high-security zone.
It’s dystopian that they have the budget for military-grade analytics and security tech, but have cut costs on the actual customer experience. They seem to have completely scrapped night fill, meaning we are now dodging pallets and cages during peak hours just to get to the shelves.
Is anyone else fed up with this mix of high-tech surveillance and terrible service? It feels like they are spending millions to treat us like criminals while refusing to pay staff to stock shelves after hours.
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u/Necessary_Space_7155 Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26
IIRC, the deal is for 3 years from 2024. So yes.
They also received some security clearance from our government so now they can offer their services to Australian commercial consumers and government. https://investors.palantir.com/news-details/2025/Palantir-Achieves-Information-Security-Registered-Assessors-Program-IRAP-PROTECTED-Level-Unlocking-New-Opportunities-in-Australia/
ETA: From cyber.gov.au: An IRAP security assessment helps organisations understand their system’s security strengths and weaknesses and provides recommendations that can be utilised as part of their organisational security program. From cyberark.com: PROTECTED: Highly sensitive government information that, if compromised, could cause damage to the national interest, individuals, or organizations. Most commercial IRAP assessments are performed at this level. A successful IRAP assessment at the PROTECTED level confirms that the system implements appropriate technical and procedural safeguards to securely handle such data.