Reports of violence against retail and fast-food workers has skyrocketed under Roger Cook with regular incidents of employees being harassed, threatened with weapons and physically assaulted.

For many Western Australians, exposure to this behaviour is becoming increasingly common.

A 2023 survey revealed 87 per cent of these workers had experienced abuse and 52 per cent were abused by the same customer more than once.

That is utterly unacceptable.

The WA Liberals believe extra measures are needed to protect these workers and their patrons.

While tougher penalties have been introduced for offenders who assault retail workers, there are very few avenues for employers to protect their workplaces from offenders who threaten or harass workers.

The Cook Labor Government have admitted that violence against retail workers is getting worse, clearly showing more needs to be done to get tough on the thugs who are targeting workers and creating fear in the workplace.

Over the last 12 months, businesses in the ACT have utilised Workplace Protection Orders (WPO) to combat this rise in crime and harassment, with positive reports from major retailers about their effectiveness.

This legislation allows employers to identify violent and threatening individuals and apply for a court-issued WPOs, preventing the behaviour and prohibiting the offender from entering or being with a certain distance of the workplace.

Beyond the ACT, no such protections exist.

The WA Liberals believe more can, and should, be done.  

The WA Liberal Government will legislate to use WPOs in reducing the scourge of violence against WA workers, by giving employers the power to act.

Supporting the rights of workers and employers over violent thugs and criminals will ensure the burden of WA’s crime crisis does not fall on hardworking Western Australians.

Western Australians deserve the tools to break the cycle of crime in our communities.

Only a WA Liberal Government will provide it.

The WA Liberals believe Western Australians deserve to feel safe at work, and customers should be able to shop without fear of harassment, violence, or threatening behaviour.

Across our state, crime and anti-social behaviour is out of control, and disrupting too many lives.

With a 56 per cent increase in physical violence on Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association members between 2021 and 2023, the threat of workplace violence must be addressed.

WPOs provide more than just legal protections – it is an assurance that employee and customer right’s matter.

They will further support workers by allowing employers to apply for the orders on behalf of staff, removing the burden from vulnerable individuals.

Without proper protections, criminals will remain emboldened to act out in our communities and against our businesses.

A WA Liberal Government will introduce new laws to enable Workplace Protection Orders to be issued in WA, allowing businesses to protect staff and customers from repeat offenders who pose a threat.

The orders will allow businesses to create a safer workplace free from fear of these high-risk offenders by either preventing them from entering the workplace or placing conditions on their entry for up to 12 months.

Breaches, and repeat behaviour, will have consequences.

While we will never apologise for tougher consequences for violent thugs, prevention is also key.

The WA Liberals will allocate funds to create a specialist Workplace Protection Unit within WA Police to oversee the orders, and further funding for anti-recidivism programs to rehabilitate offenders.

The rights of law-abiding Western Australians should always be prioritised in our legal protections against criminal behaviour.

Only the WA Liberal Party is committed to protecting our workers, customers, and businesses.