Australian retail groups vow to ‘tackle retail crime head-on’

Australian retailers are calling for stricter laws and deterrents for retail crime, emphasising its negative impacts in the industry and the economy.

At the 2024 Retail Crime Symposium in Melbourne, the soon-to-merge Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the National Retail Association (NRA) highlighted opportunities for further collaboration in the sector to help businesses.

“Good progress has been made to provide legislative protections for frontline workers, but the coverage is not yet universal across Australia,” said Paul Zahra, ARA CEO.

“We need to continue pushing for these laws because this type of aggressive behaviour isn’t tolerated in any other workplace, and shouldn’t have to be tolerated by retail workers.”

The lobby groups also called for improved relationships between the sector and the police, better information sharing, intensified focus on the human impact of retail crime, and more adoption of technology.

“Research shows that stricter laws do have a positive impact on retailers and communities, by creating safer working and shopping environments,” said Lindsay Carroll, NRA interim CEO and legal director.

“However, police need more resources to effectively act on aggressive individuals, and retailers need to increase their reporting of these incidents to police.”

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