New penalties 'send a strong message that this behaviour is unacceptable'
The New South Wales government is proposing up to 11 years of imprisonment for individuals who cause severe harm on retail workers in a bid to curb violence against the sector's workforce.
The government tabled to Parliament its proposed Crimes Legislation Amendment (Assaults on Retail Workers) Bill 2023, which is introducing three new offences into the Crimes Act 1900. Under the bill, a maximum penalty of four years will be handed to individuals who will assault, stalk, harass, or intimidate a retail worker who is in their duty, even if not actual bodily harm was caused.
Those who will cause actual bodily harm to a retail employee at work would get up to six years of imprisonment. And for those who will "wound or cause grievous bodily harm" on a retail worker, a maximum penalty of 11 years is being proposed.
These new offences carry "more severe penalties than general assault provisions," according to NSW Attorney General Michael Daley.
"[The penalties] send a strong message that this behaviour is unacceptable," he said in a statement.
The new penalties come after 85% of retail workers said they had been abused or assaulted while at work, according to research from the McKell Institute. Another study from the University of Sydney and the Australia National University also found that 34% retail workers have been harassed by a customer.
Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis added that she has also heard firsthand from retail workers how abuse affected their working life.
"This type of offending causes enormous distress for the shop workers, their families and the wider community and can leave lasting emotional scars, as well as those caused by injury," Cotsis said.
"It's crucial that people feel safe when going to work and these changes will provide a deterrent for those who would behave in this manner to people trying to provide them with a service."
Woolworths welcomes proposal
In a statement, supermarket company Woolworths welcomed the proposed enhanced protections for retail workers.
"All retail workers across the industry have the right to feel safe at work," said Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci in a statement. "Many of our team work and live in their local community and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect."
Woolworths has over 50,000 retail team members across NSW, and there have been more than 540 serious incidents of assault in their NSW stores in the past year, according to the supermarket firm.
Including their other Australian stores, there have been over 1,700 serious incidents of retail worker assault in the past 12 months, it added.
"There is no avoiding the fact that retail worker abuse is on the rise," Banducci said. "In response, we have been investing in a range of new measures to better protect our team against violence, threats, and abuse."
