Retailers, unions, law enforcement and government bodies have united in Melbourne for the 2025 Retail Crime Symposium, as the sector grapples with a nationwide surge in theft, violence and abuse.
Hosted by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA), the symposium aims to drive a consistent, national approach to tackling retail crime – a crisis that continues to threaten the safety of frontline workers and the viability of businesses.
The gathering follows a groundswell of concern across the retail industry, with new figures revealing the scale of the challenge. Over the past financial year, 70 per cent of retailers reported an increase in customer theft, while more than half said they experience physical abuse monthly or more often. Alarmingly, 87 per cent of retail workers report experiencing verbal abuse, and around 800,000 incidents of retail crime were recorded across Australia in the past year.
Chris Rodwell, CEO of the ARA, said a coordinated effort was vital to turning the tide.
“The Symposium is an opportunity for industry and decision-makers to come together and strengthen our coordinated efforts against retail crime. We need our retail leaders, lawmakers and law enforcers in the same room alongside the experts to tackle this crisis head-on,” he said.
“Research shows that stricter laws positively impact retailers and communities, helping create safer working and shopping environments. However, police also need more resources to act effectively, and retailers must improve reporting of these incidents to authorities,” Rodwell added.
The impacts of retail crime are far-reaching, with the top 10 per cent of offenders responsible for around 60 per cent of total harm. These repeat, often organised offenders are not only stealing with increasing boldness but resorting to more violent behaviour.
In response, the industry is calling for federal leadership to coordinate a unified approach across all states and territories, including consistent laws, tougher penalties, and improved access to support and training – especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
Rodwell emphasised that stronger legislation already introduced in jurisdictions such as South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia has made a difference, but national consistency is needed.
“We’ve already seen a number of strong state-based responses to the retail crime crisis, including Jack’s Law in Queensland and the Workplace Protection Orders in the ACT. Now it’s time for the states to work in lockstep.”
The call for reform has also been amplified by the release of Retail Drinks Australia’s new Safety & Security Report, launched in May. The report was developed in response to the growing risks faced by liquor retailers, who are disproportionately targeted due to their late trading hours, high-value stock, and smaller store formats. It provides guidance on store layout, staff training, and incident reporting to help operators – particularly independents – implement proactive safety measures.
Retail Drinks CEO Michael Waters said the report aims to empower businesses to make informed decisions about security and team protection.
“This report was designed to provide liquor retailers of all sizes with practical, actionable advice for preventing and responding to violence, theft and abuse. It’s part of our commitment to working collaboratively across the industry to create safer retail environments.”
The report’s release also follows the identification of Melbourne as Australia’s top retail crime hotspot. The city has seen a concentration of repeat offences, particularly in densely populated shopping districts.
Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny addressed the Symposium, saying, “Retail workers deserve nothing but our respect and deserve to be safe at work – that’s why we continue to give Victoria Police the powers they need to crack down on offenders”.
She confirmed that new laws targeting assaults on retail workers would be introduced before the end of the year, as part of recommendations from the Worker Protection Consultation Group.
Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary-Treasurer of the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), said the time for culture change has come.
“Customer abuse and aggression are a worsening epidemic threatening the safety of retail and fast-food workers. Our industry campaign has helped shift the culture from ‘the customer is always right’ to ‘No One Deserves A Serve’,” he said.
Dwyer also called for enforceable Workplace Protection Orders, controls on dangerous items such as knives, and greater recognition of customer abuse as a legitimate workplace hazard under safety laws.
Retailers echoed the sentiment. At Woolworths, significant investment has been made in safety technologies, including body-worn cameras, knife de-ranging, and personal safety alarms. The supermarket has also implemented 13 Workplace Protection Orders in the ACT, which prevent high-risk offenders from entering stores.
“The alarming escalation in violent and aggressive incidents is an industry-wide challenge that needs government and industry working together to solve,” said Sarah Faorlin, Woolworths Group’s Head of Acts of Violence and Aggression.
Coles has also taken extensive steps but says further government action is needed.
“Violence and abuse in retail settings is utterly unacceptable,” said Angela Konstantopoulos, General Manager of Health, Safety & Wellbeing. “Despite our investments in advanced safety technologies, we continue to see unacceptable levels of abuse and threatening behaviour. Addressing this crisis requires more than action from retailers alone.”
Technology and data also have a role to play. Nick McDonnell, Senior Director of Trust and Safety at crime intelligence platform Auror, said a small group of offenders are causing outsized harm.
“The serious and violent behaviour we see in Australian retail settings every day is often caused by a small group of repeat, organised and increasingly violent offenders,” he said. “Through tech-enabled collaboration with retailers, police can operate more efficiently… giving them more time to focus their resources on those top offenders and other serious crimes.”
As the Symposium wrapped, consensus emerged on the need for a nationally consistent strategy, stronger legislative tools, increased police resourcing, and a culture shift toward zero tolerance of retail abuse.
“Retail workers have the right to feel safe in their workplace,” said Rodwell. “A nationally consistent response to implement the measures recommended by the Symposium would send a clear message to offenders: their actions will not be tolerated, and consequences will follow.”