Workers will be better protected under new laws that will allow for applications to be made to the courts to bar violent or intimidating patrons under reforms to be introduced to State Parliament.
The laws would establish a Workplace Protection Order scheme in South Australia, aimed at better protecting workers in a range of at-risk professions.
Under the scheme, employers, unions, business owners and industry groups would be able to apply to the Magistrates Court or Youth Court to impose an Order against individuals who have engaged in personal violence in relation to a workplace and may engage in future violent behaviour in relation to that business premises.
Under the Bill, personal violence includes physical violence or abuse; sexual violence or abuse; threatening behaviour; stalking; harassing, intimidating or offensive behaviour; and damage of property that causes reasonable fear to a person at the workplace.
Such an Order could bar the person from the premises or impose strict conditions on their presence in the workplace for up to 12 months, including preventing them from having contact with certain employees.
Any individual subject to an order would also need to surrender any firearms, unless the Court is satisfied that the individual's possession of firearms does not present a risk to the safety and protection of the worker.
People who breach the terms of a Workplace Protection Order could face penalties of up to two years imprisonment for a non-aggravated breach and five years for an aggravated breach.
The Bill is modelled on legislation successfully operating in the ACT, and has been refined through consultation with unions and business groups.
As put by Kyam Maher
Violence and aggression towards workers is unacceptable and has no place in our state.
Protecting workers against these types of threatening and intimidatory behaviours is a significant step to ensuring staff are able to go about their business free from violence and harassment.
Keeping the community safe is a top priority for this government and we will continue to work with the retail industry to ensure workers and customers have strong protections.
As put by Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees Association (SDA) SA Secretary Josh Peak
The Malinauskas Government is on the side of retail workers. They've increased penalties for assaulting retail workers, introduced the toughest crime laws in the country and now they're bringing in laws to ban abusive customers.
It didn't make sense that abusive and violent customers couldn't be banned for more than 24 hours – and now we're fixing that.
Our members tell us that so often, that the people seeking to harm them are already known to the stores. Being able to stop those people from coming back is a vital step to keeping workers safe and will reduce violence incidents.
Retail workers should not have to tolerate violent or threatening behaviour in their workplaces under any circumstances.
It's great to see the government stepping up and doing everything they can to protect South Aussie retail workers.
As put by Woolworths Head of Violence Prevention, Sarah Faorlin
We applaud the SA Government's move to introduce Workplace Protection Orders legislation in the State to help protect retail workers.
Our team members are experiencing increased levels of violence and aggression often unprovoked and often by repeat offenders - so these laws are an effective tool to protect our team and customers from offenders who do the most harm in our stores.
It's important to remember that our team members are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters - many of them young people in their first job - come to work to help customers. Our team's safety should be non-negotiable and we'll continue standing up for that.
Workplace Protection Orders have indisputably helped lower crime in the ACT (down 23% this year compared to last year) and we urge other state and territory governments to follow South Australia and introduce this common sense legislation, without delay, to protect retail workers from harm.
