The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the National Retail Association (NRA) have welcomed the Victorian Government’s commitment to introducing Workplace Protection Orders and tougher penalties for assaults, abuse and harassment against retail workers. Both organisations say the move is long overdue and are urging the Government to implement the changes quickly.

ARA CEO Chris Rodwell said Victoria has been the last state to strengthen protections for frontline retail staff despite facing the highest levels of retail crime in the country. He described the Government’s announcement as an important step, but stressed that timely action is essential.

CEO of Australian Retailers Association, Chris Rodwell

“Victoria has finally acted on concerns retailers have been raising for two years that violence, theft and abuse are out of control and unacceptable,” Rodwell said. “These vital laws must be passed and enforced without delay.”

Every other state and territory except Victoria has introduced tougher penalties for assaults on frontline or retail workers. South Australia and the ACT have already implemented Workplace Protection Orders, which allow authorities to restrict repeat offenders from entering workplaces where they have caused harm.

Rodwell said the model is already working in other jurisdictions and should be adopted without hesitation. He noted that ten per cent of offenders are responsible for sixty per cent of crimes in retail settings and that WPOs would directly address this persistent group.

Research commissioned by the ARA and NRA found that most Victorians are worried about rising crime. The survey released on October 30 showed that seventy nine per cent of respondents were concerned about crime levels and eighty nine per cent supported stronger penalties for offenders who threaten or assault retail workers. Victoria now accounts for around one third of all retail crime incidents nationwide, with cases rising more than twenty per cent in the past year.

Rodwell also called for Victoria to follow New South Wales and South Australia by establishing a dedicated retail crime police unit. He said relying only on Protective Service Officers would not adequately address the scale of the issue.

“Retail crime in Victoria has reached crisis proportions. Workers are being spat on, punched, threatened and abused for simply doing their jobs. There is room for additional measures and without targeted enforcement the problem will not change,” he said.

The retail sector employs more than 1.4 million Australians, many of them young people, women and casual workers who face customer aggression on a regular basis. More than half of Victorian retail employees have witnessed crime at their workplaces.

Rodwell said the industry will continue to work with the Victorian Government and with governments around the country to ensure frontline workers are properly protected.

“The people serving our communities every day deserve to feel safe at work and their families deserve to know they will come home unharmed,” he concluded.