Abusive customers can soon be banned from re-entering your workplace.
The Malinauskas Government has announced it will introduce legislation next week to finally allow the banning of repetitive, abusive and aggressive customers from returning to your workplace.
Currently, trespass laws only allow retailers to ban customers for 24 hours.
Under the Workplace Protection Order scheme, employers and shopping centres will be able to seek an Order to ban customers who do the wrong thing for up to 12 months.
The new laws will also give unions and Health and Safety Representatives the power to act. This is crucial, especially if your employer isn’t taking steps to ban customers who repeatedly enter your workplace and do the wrong thing.
These powers are a massive win for SDA members. It is a crucial step towards creating safer workplaces for all South Australian retail workers.
It didn’t make sense that abusive and violent customers couldn’t be banned for more than 24 hours – and we’re proud to have advocated for this crucial measure to keep workers safe.
Over the past three years, the Malinauskas Government has been on the side of retail workers in their commitment to keep workers safe. They have implemented:
- Stronger penalties for assaulting retail and fast-food workers
- The toughest knife laws in the country to prevent knife-related violence
- New powers for police to conduct wanding searches which are now in place at 11 shopping precincts
We’re proud to have advocated and worked with the Malinauskas Government to deliver safe workplace laws for our members.
We will keep members updated on the passage of this legislation.
What you need to know about Workplace Protection Orders
In South Australia, criminal trespass only applies 24 hours. Which means if customers who do the wrong thing and are banned return after 24 hours, there is nothing police or the courts can do about it.
The Workplace Protection Order plan means for the first time customers who are banned and have a Workplace Protect Order placed on them are committing a criminal offence if they return to the workplace.
Workplace Protection Orders can also be sought by more than just employers and can last for up to 12 months.
This legislation will provide power to seek to ban abusive customers if they engage in personal violence in the workplace.
Personal violence includes:
- physical violence or abuse
- sexual violence or abuse
- threatening behaviour
- stalking
- harassing, intimidating or offensive behaviour
- damage of property that causes reasonable fear to a person at the workplace.
Employers, shopping centres, unions and Health and Safety Representatives will be able to apply for an Order to ban an abusive customer.
Under the scheme, employers, shopping centres, unions and Health and Safety Reps 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.
If an Order is granted, it would bar them from entering the workplace for up to 12 months.
People who breach the terms of a Workplace Protection Order could face penalties of up to 2 years imprisonment for a non-aggravated breach and 5 years for an aggravated breach.
The legislation will be introduced into the South Australian Parliament in November 2025. We are urging the State Government to introduce this legislation as soon as practicable following this.