Nation’s biggest retailers call to fast-track legislation to restrict repeat offenders from entering stores

Some of the nation’s biggest retailers are pushing for fast-tracked laws in WA that would ban offenders who assault or abuse workers from entering stores. Amid growing scrutiny of retailers’ use of facial recognition technology to prevent crime, the State Government has said beefed-up laws protecting retail workers — often too afraid to report to police — are a priority. Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles, as well as department store Myer, are working closely with police and State governments to push for tougher retail crime legislations, particularly the introduction of retail-barring orders right across the country. The ACT is the only jurisdiction with such legislation in place, while WA and SA are looking to introduce similar laws. Sarah Faorlin — Woolworths’ head of acts of violence and aggression prevention — said the grocery giant’s WA stores have recorded a 19 per cent spike in violent incidents so far this year. It follows a 33 per cent increase in 2024. “We’re really supportive of any efforts to be made in fast-tracking anything to protect our team and particularly frontline retail workers,” Ms Faorlin told The West Australian this week when asked about WA’s proposal to introduce retail-barring orders. “One of the challenges that we face is team members who are assaulted, or being verbally abused and threatened, they don’t want to report to police, they’re fearful of reprisal attack, they’re fearful of going through the judicial process of having to sit in court and give evidence. “So retail barring orders would enable Woolworths to take that burden away from (the) team.” Attorney-General Tony Buti said the State Government was committed to its election promise of retail-barring orders “as part of a broader plan to reduce retail crime and anti-social behaviour”. “I have met with Woolworths to listen to the concerns facing the retail sector,” Dr Buti told The West Australian. “The Government understands these issues and shares their goal of making sure retail workers and customers feel safe.” Dr Buti said the Department of Justice had consulted key industry groups and was “moving forward with the work needed to deliver it”. It comes as Kmart was this week found to have breached privacy laws by using facial recognition cameras in some of its stores, which the retailer said was needed due to a surge in theft and threats of violence against staff and customers. It’s examining an appeal. Hardware giant Bunnings, in a ruling last November, was also found to have breached privacy laws for using a similar technology. Wesfarmers, the owner of Kmart and Bunnings, has long advocated for retailers to be able to selectively use facial recognition technology to identify known offenders in their stores. “Almost every day somewhere in my network I’m getting an incident report about a team member or a customer who’s been attacked or abused,” Bunnings boss Mike Schneider told The West Australian late last year. Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott last month said the company was seeing “a very high degree of organised crime focused on retail stores in Australia”. It has already demanded tougher legislative penalties to stem losses that are running at “hundreds of millions of dollars” a year. Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association WA secretary Ben Harris said the sooner retail-barring orders were in the place in WA, the better. Mr Harris said the large number of people being charged with the new assault of retail worker offences “further affirms that there was significant need for tougher laws”. Coles boss Leah Weckert last month said its increased investment in technology — including smart exit gates at hundreds of its stores — had succeeded in lowering the rates of shoplifting. But staff safety remained a concern. A Coles spokesman this week said despite record levels of investment in technology, security guards and safety training, organised crime continued to drive unacceptable levels of abuse and threatening behaviour. “That is why we are working closely with governments across the country for additional police resources dedicated to retail crime, as well as stronger legislative measures to deter and address this behaviour,” the spokesman said. This year Coles was forced to pull kitchen knives from its all its stores after a Queensland employee stacking shelves was allegedly stabbed from behind by a 13-year-old boy. In Perth a man was charged this week after he allegedly assaulted 64-year-old grandmother Kathleen Roberts as she stood in the aisle of a Coles store in Haynes. Police say a stranger forcefully pushed her into a shopping trolley and shelving, causing her to strike her head and fall to the ground. Ms Faorlin — whose role was introduced in February last year — said the ACT’s workplace protection orders, similar to retail-barring orders, were proving to be a “really effective tool”. Woolworths currently had workplace protection orders against 13 “high-harm offenders” in the ACT, she said. “What we’ve actually started to see in the ACT is whilst those (13) offenders have actually reduced their offending, we’re actually seeing a 23 per cent reduction in total offending right across all of our stores,” she said. Police Minister Reece Whitby said “tackling retail crime is a real priority”. “The Cook Government and the WA Police Force is committed to ensuring offenders involved in retail theft are identified and caught, as we prioritise community safety,” he said. “Regular overt and covert operations within retail precincts are conducted by WA Police, targeting retail-theft offending. “The WA Police Force is working closer than ever with retailers who are most frequently and significantly impacted by retail theft.” Mr Whitby said the new assault retail worker offences, which were introduced by the Government last year, were a positive step towards addressing the issue. Since July last year, at least 417 people have been charged with the new assault retail worker offence. “Retail crime is at crisis point across the country, including in Western Australia,” Australian Retailers Association chief Chris Rodwell said. Serious incidents increased by 36 per cent and threatening behaviour by 48 per cent in WA, both higher than the national averages of 30 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, according to ARA figures. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed theft spiked to a 21-year high last year, with police recording 268,666 incidents at retail locations nationally. Mr Rodwell said the ARA was keen on working with the WA community on the “responsible introduction of facial recognition technology given its positive impact in bringing down retail crime in locations such as New Zealand”. Liquor Stores Association of WA chief executive Peter Peck said while its 300-strong members were already covered by the Liquor Control Act — which gives them the ability to lawfully ban people from entering stores — a broader retail-barring order would be “a fantastic piece of law”, but it would need to be taken seriously by the Department of Justice and the courts. “There’s no appetite to actually really give a harsh penalty for a repeat offender who has no intention of changing their ways,” he said. “We see time and time again people come up before the courts, some of them (who have) physically assaulted staff, and being told, ‘Don’t do it again, we’ll let you out but don’t let me see you again’, and it’s just a revolving door. “We’re pleased that this legislation is coming but . . . hope that the judicial system actually steps up and listens to what community expectations are and start to apply them.” Mr Peck said society was “more brazen and there’s less respect out there than there was in previous years”. “We think the catalyst to this is that occupational health and safety says it’s not worth putting staff at risk to retain goods that have been stolen . . . we totally understand that,” he said. “Because people know that, people have walked into establishments and quite brazenly stolen stuff. It then got to a point where they weren’t just happy at stealing stuff, they would then confront staff on the way out, taunting them, probably to build their own self-ego and make themselves feel important.” A Myer spokesman said it had introduced several initiatives to help keep its team and customers safe. This included a more visible security presence at the entrance of some of its stores, improved merchandise security tagging and rolling out glass cabinets for high-value products such as cosmetics and fragrances. Body cameras are also worn by its staff in the Perth City and Karrinyup stores. “Our strategy is built upon more than protecting merchandise. We’re taking a holistic view to tackle theft, protect our team and customers to create a safer retail environment,” the spokesman said. “We’re working constructively with the wider industry, law enforcement and government to help tackle the issue, which needs to be addressed collectively.” Nick Hallam, director at Wangara-based security system company Edge Security WA, said while demand for their products continued to be underpinned by theft prevention, businesses now wanted to ensure they kept up with the latest technology. “(Businesses) always spent money on security, but there has been a shift from your traditional CCTV systems to something like door-access control systems, which present more of a physical barrier,” he said. This electronically controlled door can normally be accessed with swipe tags, key fob or a code, Mr Hallam said. “CCTV doesn’t physically stop someone from taking something.” Dan Murphy’s and BWS owner Endeavour Group, as well as David Jones, declined to comment.