Ban Aggressive Customers
A safe workplace isn’t a luxury, it’s a right.
For too long, retail and fast food workers have faced abuse, intimidation and violence simply for doing their jobs.
That is why the SDA’s Ban Aggressive Customers campaign has focused on securing stronger protections for frontline workers, including the introduction of Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs).
Across Australia, the SDA is calling for governments to introduce Workplace Protection Orders that can stop repeat offenders who abuse or are violent towards retail and fast food workers.
A safe workplace isn’t a luxury, it’s a right.
For too long, retail and fast food workers have faced abuse, intimidation and violence simply for doing their jobs.
That is why the SDA’s Ban Aggressive Customers campaign has focused on securing stronger protections for frontline workers, including the introduction of Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs).
Across Australia, the SDA is calling for governments to introduce Workplace Protection Orders that can stop repeat offenders who abuse or are violent towards retail and fast food workers.
The SDA has consistently argued that stronger penalties alone are not enough.
While tougher penalties for assaults against retail and fast food workers were an important step forward, workers also need practical tools that stop repeat offenders from returning to workplaces.
That is exactly what Workplace Protection Orders are designed to do.
They should allow unions, retail operators and transport operators to apply for court orders banning individuals from workplaces where they have assaulted, threatened, intimidated or repeatedly abused workers.
Thanks to the SDA’s ongoing work to eliminate abuse and violence from customers, Workplace Protection Orders are already in place in the ACT and South Australia. We’re also expecting Workplace Protection Orders will be introduced in WA and Victoria. We continue to campaign for these protections in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania.
The SDA has consistently argued that stronger penalties alone are not enough.
While tougher penalties for assaults against retail and fast food workers were an important step forward, workers also need practical tools that stop repeat offenders from returning to workplaces.
That is exactly what Workplace Protection Orders are designed to do.
They should allow unions, retail operators and transport operators to apply for court orders banning individuals from workplaces where they have assaulted, threatened, intimidated or repeatedly abused workers.
Thanks to the SDA’s ongoing work to eliminate abuse and violence from customers, Workplace Protection Orders are already in place in the ACT and South Australia. We’re also expecting Workplace Protection Orders will be introduced in WA and Victoria. We continue to campaign for these protections in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania.
The need for action has never been clearer.
The SDA’s 2025 No One Deserves A Serve survey revealed alarming levels of abuse experienced by retail and fast food workers.
Nearly 3,000 members responded, with 88 per cent reporting verbal abuse, 25 per cent reporting physical assault and 59 per cent saying they had been abused by the same customer on more than one occasion.
These findings confirm what members have been telling the SDA for years: repeat offenders are a major driver of workplace violence and abuse.
Workplace Protection Orders directly address this problem by providing a mechanism to remove high-risk individuals from workplaces before their behaviour escalates further.
