The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement to introduce tough new laws that will help protect workers, including shopping centre security guards, cleaners as well as retail workers, along with other measures including vehicle ram-raids being upgraded to an aggravated burglary offence.

The Government has also announced a commitment to introduce legislation for Workplace Protection Orders in April 2026.

The SCCA strongly supports any measure that targets and helps to reduce crime and violence in retail settings, and acknowledges the Victorian Government in prioritising victims and worker safety.

SCCA Chief Executive Angus Nardi said:“We strongly support the Victorian Government’s introduction of tough new laws to reduce crime, prioritise victims and help protect workers, including shopping centre security guards and cleaners, along with retail and other workers.

“We strongly support the Government upgrading vehicle ram-raids to be an aggravated burglary offence, as it carries stronger penalties and reflects the significant harm and impacts of such incidents.

“Our industry commends Premier Jacinta Allan for today’s announcement, and the Government’s engagement with our industry on these measures,” he said.

“Today’s announcement by Premier Jacinta Allan is a great step forward to tackle retail and violent crime – full stop.

“Shopping centres are safe places, but we have seen an increase in violent incidents, including the use of weapons, motor-vehicles, and from repeat offenders.

“Just last week, a shopping centre security guard was badly assaulted, and today’s announcement will send a strong message that violent behaviour and conduct is unacceptable and has serious consequences,” Mr Nardi said.

The SCCA and its industry partners recently launched their annual national ‘Be Kind in Retail’ campaign, which encourages respectful and kindness towards all workers in retail settings and is running across digital screens in shopping centres and retailers.

“With the recent commencement of our annual ‘Be Kind in Retail’ campaign, Premier Allan’s announcement today is wonderful timing particularly as we’re in the busy Christmas trading period.”

“We look forward to continuing our engagement with the Victorian Government and Victoria Police on issues relating to retail crime.

“We thank Victoria Police for the incredibly important work that they do in keeping the community safe,” he said.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA) welcome the Victorian Government’s commitment to Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs) and long-awaited new laws to strengthen penalties for assaults, abuse and harassment against retail workers – and urge the Government to act quickly to deliver real change. 

ARA CEO Chris Rodwell said the announcement marks an important step in the right direction given Victoria has been the nation’s outlier in safeguarding frontline retail staff. 

“It’s encouraging that Victoria has finally acted on the concerns retailers have been raising for two years – that the levels of violence, theft and abuse are out of control and unacceptable,” he said. “It’s critical to the people working across the retail sector that these vital laws are passed and enforced without delay.” 

NSW, WA, SA, QLD, TAS and NT have all passed laws strengthening penalties for assaults on frontline or retail workers. While South Australia and the ACT have introduced Workplace Protection Orders, Victoria continues to lag behind – despite recording the nation’s highest levels of retail crime. 

“With 10% of the offenders committing 60% of the crimes, we need effective measures to stop high-harm, repeat offenders, continuing to harm the same workers repeatedly. Workplace Protection Orders are a proven model to deal with these offenders and are operating right now in other jurisdictions. Victoria doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel – it can act urgently,” said Mr Rodwell.  

Research commissioned by the ARA and NRA released on October 30, found that 79% of Victorians are concerned about rising crime levels, and 89% support stronger penalties for offenders who threaten or assault retail workers. Retail crime incidents in Victoria have surged more than 20% in the past year alone, with the state now accounting for around one-third of all reported incidents nationwide. 

Mr Rodwell says Victoria must follow the lead of NSW and South Australia by establishing a dedicated police unit to tackle retail crime, rather than relying on a partial response through existing Protective Service Officer (PSO) duties. 

“Retail crime in Victoria isn’t just rising – it’s reached crisis proportions. Every day, retail workers are being spat on, punched, threatened and abused simply for doing their jobs. While this commitment is welcome, there’s room for additional measures,” said Mr Rodwell. 

“Without targeted enforcement and resourcing, the problem won’t change on the ground.” 

The retail sector employs more than 1.4 million Australians – many of them young people, women and casual staff who face customer aggression daily. More than half of Victorian retail employees have witnessed some form of crime in the stores where they work. 

Mr Rodwell said the retail industry would continue to work constructively with the Victorian Government – and with governments across Australia – to ensure retail workers are protected. 

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

Master Grocers Australia welcomes the Victorian Government’s announcement of tougher laws and penalties targeting criminals that threaten or harm retail workers.

The Victorian Government has announced that under the bill to be introduced to Parliament today, assaulting or threatening a customer-facing worker will carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment, with lower-level intimidation attracting jail terms of up to six months. Ram-raids will also be reclassified as aggravated burglary, with maximum penalties of up to 25 years. The Government aims to have the new laws in effect by the end of the year.

MGA CEO Martin Stirling said the announcement is an important and overdue step – but stressed that Victoria is only now catching up to the rest of the country.

“Victoria is now coming into line with the rest of the country, and we welcome this action,” Mr Stirling said. “What matters now is swift implementation and strong enforcement, so workers start to feel safer immediately.

“Small family-owned retailers cannot keep absorbing the trauma, the cost and the daily threat of violence. This must be the beginning of a far stronger and effective response — not the end of it.”

These laws are overdue and should have been in place long ago. Countless business owners and workers have had their lives irreparably damaged. These announcements must be implemented and properly resourced immediately – every day of delay will mean more destruction.

MGA continues to advocate for additional measures to address the surge in retail crime, including dedicated police resources and the fast-tracking of workplace protection orders.

“Our small and family-owned businesses need real, on-the-ground support,” Mr Stirling said. “We look forward to working with the Government to ensure these reforms deliver safer workplaces for every Victorian retail worker.”