Threatening, abusive and violent customers face being banned from businesses under tough new legislation being introduced today by the Minns Labor Government to protect NSW workers.
Workers in public-facing roles can be particularly exposed to aggressive and abusive behaviour, including from repeat offenders who return to the same workplace.
The new laws will give businesses and workers another tool to intervene before behaviour escalates, helping keep dangerous individuals away from workplaces and the people who work in them.
Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs) can apply to perpetrators aged 14 and older. They can be sought if someone stalks, intimidates or engages in conduct amounting to a personal violence offence at a workplace and there are reasonable grounds to fear this conduct will continue.
Courts will be able to impose restrictions deemed necessary to prevent further harm including banning perpetrators from entering a workplace, contacting staff or possessing weapons.
A person conducting a business or undertaking under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 will be able to seek a WPO on behalf of one or more workers.
Business groups, unions and health and safety representatives can also apply with authorisation from those they represent.
The reforms send a clear message that threatening, intimidating or violent behaviour towards workers will not be tolerated, and give businesses stronger powers to protect staff from people who repeatedly put them at risk.
Breaching a WPO will be punishable by up to two years imprisonment, a $5,500 penalty or both.
The legislation follows extensive consultation with employers, police, unions, government agencies and legal stakeholders about a model for WPOs.
WPOs will initially apply to retail workplaces, with the scheme able to be extended to cover other public facing workplaces by regulation as needed.
The laws are expected to come into effect within 12 months of their passage to allow for education, training and justice system upgrades, and will be statutorily reviewed after three years.
They build on the Minns Labor Government’s work to improve worker safety. This includes introducing the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Assault on Retail Workers) Act 2023 increasing penalties for violence and harassment against retail workers.
Since the legislation came into effect, 673 individuals have been charged with 884 offences. Of those, 103 have received a custodial imprisonment sentence and 68 have received a monetary fine.
Last year, the NSW Government joined the NSW Police Force to launch its Retail Crime Strategy, targeting violent offending and theft in shops and providing further support and education to retailers.
The centrepiece of this strategy is Operation Percentile which puts police in shops to target recidivist offending and theft.
Since launching statewide in October 2025, 2,073 people have been charged with more than 3,900 offences under Operation Percentile, with incidents relating to $1,350,000 of stolen stock.
Minister for Police Yasmin Catley said:
“No one should be intimidated, abused or made to feel unsafe for simply doing their job.
“This Government backs workers which is why today we’re introducing the further reform to help keep people safe at work and crack down on violent and intimidatory offending.
“NSW Police are in shops every day, targeting violent, recidivist offenders and theft through Operation Percentile.
“The numbers speak for themselves. Police are not only charging and putting hundreds of individuals before the court. They’re recovering stolen stock and acting as a deterrent for anyone who thinks they can get away with this lowlife offending.”
Attorney General Michael Daley said:
“The Government is putting workers first with tough new measures to protect against intimidation, abuse and violence on the job.
“We have listened to workers calling for greater protection and are cracking down on this unacceptable conduct.
“We are giving courts the power to do whatever is needed to stop this behaviour including banning threatening, abusive and violent customers from entering a store or contacting staff.”
Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis said:
“I’ve heard harrowing stories from retail workers who’ve been abused and assaulted, and we have listened to their calls for more protections.
“For too long, workers have been told the customer is always right, but there is no excuse for abuse and that’s why we’re cracking down on this appalling behaviour.
“We have zero tolerance for threats, intimidation and violence towards any workers, and these tough new laws will stop abusive customers from entering stores and contacting staff.”
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association NSW Secretary Bernie Smith said:
“Retail and fast-food workers deserve to feel safe at work, but too many are dealing with threats, intimidation and abuse simply for doing their jobs.
“These new laws are a significant win for frontline workers, providing stronger protections and sending a clear message that abusing or threatening someone simply for doing their job is never acceptable”
“10% of offenders are responsible for 60% of the problems in our shops. These laws are welcome because they will keep those repeat offenders out of our shops and prevent them reoffending.”
CEO Australian Retail Council Chris Rodwell said:
“We thank the NSW Government for introducing these critical laws to help protect retail workers from violence, threats and intimidation.
“Workplace protection orders help break the cycle of offending by keeping dangerous repeat offenders away from workers and customers.
“We urge all sides of Parliament to support their swift passage and bring these protections into operation as soon as possible. Every day counts.”
Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolaou said:
Workers deserve to feel safe at work but for too long frontline workers, particularly in retail, have been exposed to abusive and violent behaviour simply for doing their jobs.
Business Sydney welcomes the Minns Labor Government’s legislation for Workplace Protection Orders and looks forward to working constructively with the NSW Government, employers, unions and police to ensure these protections are effective and help make Sydney’s workplaces safer.
The proposed WPOs are a practical step forward in allowing courts to impose conditions to protect workers and sends a clear message that abuse and violence.”
Media Release: Attorney General Michael Daley, Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis, Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley
