Victoria is set to usher in some of the toughest protections for retail and hospitality workers in Australia, as the Allan government prepares to introduce sweeping new legislation targeting customer violence and abuse. Under the proposed laws, which will be tabled in the Victorian parliament on Friday, customers who assault or threaten those working in retail, hospitality, delivery, or transport roles could face up to five years in prison—a penalty that puts such offenses on par with some of the state’s most serious assault categories.
The legislative push comes amid mounting pressure from unions, major businesses, and the Australian Retailers Association, all of whom have sounded the alarm over a surge in abuse and violence directed at frontline workers. The government’s move, announced on November 14, 2025, is the latest in a series of crime crackdowns rolled out this week, designed to address growing community concerns ahead of the state’s next election.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who previously worked in a supermarket herself, made clear the personal resonance of the issue. “I worked at a supermarket and I know what it was like. Today, we stand with workers to say it should never be a part of your job, and you’ll be protected,” Allan said, according to The Age. She added, “There is a difference between the customer from hell and the customer who harms – retail workers know it, and these laws nail it.”
The new indictable offense will apply not only to those on the shop floor or behind the register, but also to back-of-house staff, fast food employees, ride-share drivers, and delivery workers. Even lower-level assaults or threatening, intimidating, or abusive behavior—including swearing—will carry penalties of up to six months in jail. The government is aiming to have the bill passed by Christmas, a period notorious for heightened tensions and stress in the retail sector.
The crackdown doesn’t stop at assaults. In response to a spate of shopfront ram-raids—often linked to Victoria’s ongoing tobacco turf wars—such crimes will be re-listed as aggravated burglary. The maximum penalty? A staggering 25 years behind bars. What’s more, children as young as 14 who are accused of ram-raids could find themselves tried in adult courts, a dramatic shift from the current practice where the Children’s Court can only impose sentences of up to three years. The government has also announced that, for a range of serious violent offenses, offenders aged 14 and over will face the prospect of life imprisonment if convicted as adults.
These moves have not gone unnoticed by the opposition. On November 13, 2025, Opposition Leader Brad Battin pressed the premier during question time, demanding answers on the government’s response to the retail crime wave. Allan has spent much of the week unveiling a suite of reforms aimed at restoring public confidence and tackling what many see as a growing crisis.
Statistics released by the Crime Statistics Agency in September paint a stark picture. In the year ending June 30, 2025, thefts from retail stores in Victoria shot up by nearly 42%, totaling more than 20,400 incidents. Other data, cited by the ABC, puts the figure for retail theft in 2024/25 at 41,667 offences—a 27.6% jump from the previous year. The numbers are more than just abstract figures for those on the ground. Grocery giants Coles and Woolworths have both reported that violence and aggression are at their worst in Victorian stores, with Woolworths noting that the state accounts for more than 40% of all reported incidents nationwide.
Sarah Gooding, Woolworths’ state operations director, said last month, “Violence and aggression is rising across the country, but Victoria accounts for more than 40 per cent of all our reported cases – we need this to change.” She told The Age, “The announcement is a big step forward for our team members, many of whom spoke up with courage in recent months about the violence and abuse they’ve encountered while simply doing their job.”
Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott has also described organized crime as a significant and growing problem at his company’s Victorian outlets, which include big names like Bunnings, Kmart, Target, and Officeworks. The Australian Retailers Association’s chief executive, Chris Rodwell, welcomed the government’s announcement, calling it “an important step in the right direction.” He emphasized to The Age, “It’s critical to the people working across the retail sector that these vital laws are passed and enforced without delay.”
But Rodwell and others believe more needs to be done. He argued that Victoria should follow other states by establishing a dedicated police unit for retail crime, rather than relying on existing protective service officers. “Retail crime in Victoria isn’t just rising – it’s reached crisis proportions,” Rodwell said. “While this commitment is welcome, there’s room for additional measures. Without targeted enforcement and resourcing, the problem won’t change on the ground.”
Unions have been among the most vocal advocates for change. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), which represents retail workers, has been campaigning for workplace protection orders for more than two years. These orders, currently only available in the ACT, would allow entire workplaces to ban violent or abusive customers. Michael Donovan, the SDA’s Victorian secretary, described the scale of the problem in stark terms on 3AW radio: “We’re not just talking about people being a bit rude to you. Our members have been screamed at, pushed, shoved, dragged across the counter, had things thrown at them, being spat on, being threatened ‘we’ll get you in the car park’ right through to stabbings.”
Donovan acknowledged that the reforms had taken longer than hoped, but called them “a significant move in the right direction.” He urged the government to have the tougher penalties in place for the Christmas shopping rush, when incidents typically spike. Looking ahead, separate legislation to introduce workplace protection orders is slated for April 2026, with the government planning to model them on laws in the ACT and South Australia. “We trust this means they will be introduced early next year,” Donovan said.
The government’s broader “adult time for violent crime” policy, announced on November 12, 2025, mirrors a similar approach adopted in Queensland after the Liberal-National government’s election victory in 2024. It’s a controversial move, with some critics warning about the risks of sending young offenders into the adult justice system. Yet supporters argue it’s a necessary step to deter serious youth crime and protect the community.
As the Allan government pushes to pass the new assault laws by the end of 2025, all eyes will be on whether these measures can stem the tide of violence and abuse that has left so many retail and hospitality workers feeling vulnerable. For now, there’s a sense of cautious optimism among advocates and business leaders alike—tempered by the recognition that, in the fight to make Victoria’s shops and restaurants safer, laws alone may not be enough.
