Proposed laws would allow courts to ban offenders from workplace premises
The NSW government will introduce legislation establishing workplace protection orders (WPOs) to protect workers from abuse and violence, with the scheme initially applying to retail workplaces.
The proposed orders will apply to people aged 14 and older who stalk, intimidate or engage in conduct amounting to a personal violence offence at a workplace where there are reasonable grounds to fear the behaviour will continue.
Courts will be able to impose WPOs for a duration and subject to conditions considered necessary to prevent protected workers from being assaulted, threatened, stalked, harassed or intimidated. Conditions could include banning a person from premises, preventing them from contacting staff or prohibiting them from possessing weapons.
A person conducting a business or undertaking under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 will be able to apply for an order on behalf of one or more workers. Business groups, unions, and health and safety representatives can also apply with authorisation from the workers they represent.
Breaching a WPO will carry a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment, a $5,500 fine or both.
The legislation is scheduled to be introduced to parliament in October following consultation with employers, police, unions, government agencies and legal stakeholders.
The scheme will initially cover retail workplaces, but the government can extend it by regulation to other public-facing workplaces. The laws are expected to commence within 12 months of passage to provide time for education, training and justice system upgrades. A statutory review will take place after three years.
The proposed legislation follows other measures addressing violence and offending in retail settings. In 2023, three offences were created for harassing, stalking or assaulting a retail worker, carrying penalties of up to 11 years’ imprisonment.
"This legislation builds on the work we are doing to create safer workplaces for workers, including the introduction of offences for harassing, stalking or assaulting a retail worker,” industrial relations minister Sophie Cotsis said in a media release. “As a former retail worker myself, I want customers to take a moment to remember that the people who serve you deserve respect.”
Attorney General Michael Daley said the measures followed extensive work with employers, law enforcement, unions and the courts to develop protections for workers.
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association NSW Secretary Bernie Smith said WPOs would target high-risk offenders and prevent repeat incidents, while Shopping Centre Council of Australia Chief Executive Angus Nardi said the orders would provide a mechanism to ban high-harm abuse and violent offenders from shopping centres and other retail settings.
