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Source: Reuters
Full-body scanning will soon be introduced as a compulsory security measure at all of Australia's international airports.
New laws being introduced into Federal Parliament this week mean passengers will have to undergo full-body scans or be banned from flying.
Trials of the scanners were held at Sydney and Melbourne last year and the roll-out at all international airports starts in July. This is part of a NZ$33.5 million security overhaul.
The scanners will show passengers on a screen as stick figures and will detect anything obscured beneath clothing.
Australia's Government is emphasising to the public that the scanners will not show a person's sex - passengers will not appear nude on screens - and the system has been approved by the Privacy Commission.
Each image will be discarded after the passenger has passed through security.
A current loophole in legislation means passengers can ask for a pat-down rather than having to pass through a metal detector.
But the Aviation Security Amendment (Screening) Bill 2012 will mean any passenger selected to must comply with a body scan.
Mandatory body scans are necessary to ensure airport security, said Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.
"I think the public understands that we live in a world where there are threats to our security and experience shows they want the peace of mind that comes with knowing government is doing all it can," he was reported as saying by the Herald Sun.
Passengers with serious medical conditions will not have to go through the scan.
The scanners will be installed at airports in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns and Gold Coast, .
