The government of South Australia is running a trial for a system that could eventually force citizens to take a photo of themselves via a government app to report their location on demand within 15 minutes of authorities requesting it, or face a police investigation.

Yes, really.

The revelation was highlighted in an Atlantic piece by Conor Friedersdorf which questions whether Australia can still call itself a liberal democracy in light of the crippling restrictions it has placed on its own population.

With no end in sight for the lifting of the country's brutal lockdown, Aussies could face even more invasive state intrusion into their private lives under the justification of stopping the spread of the virus.

The South Australian government is preparing to roll out an app that "will contact people at random asking them to provide proof of their location within 15 minutes," according to reports.

If people refuse to report their location or are unable to do so, police are then dispatched to hunt them down.

"We don't tell them how often or when, on a random basis they have to reply within 15 minutes," said Premier Steven Marshall.