STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator CICCONE (Victoria) (13:50): Abuse, intimidation, stalking and assault have no place in our community, and they certainly have no place in our workplaces. That's why I am proud to stand in the Senate today to commend the SDA union in Victoria for its Ban Aggressive Customers campaign. This 12-month-long effort has delivered a significant outcome thanks to the Ben Carroll Victorian Labor government introducing legislation to create workplace protection orders through its new scheme.

Those in retail, fast food and other customer-facing roles deserve nothing less than the right to feel safe whilst doing their job. Workplace protection orders will give the courts the power to ban or limit people's access to workplaces when they have repeatedly behaved inappropriately towards workers. These bans can remain in force for up to 12 months, with breaches carrying penalties of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.

We don't need to see the statistics to understand the impact abuse and violence can have on customer service workers. These reforms are an important step towards ensuring that people can clock on without stress or fear. I want to commend the SDA union for its advocacy and thank the Carroll Labor government for recognising the importance of this campaign and for protecting workers.

These reforms send a very clear message that if you repeatedly abuse or intimidate workers, there will be serious consequences. The workplace protection orders will make a real difference to the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Victorians, because everyone deserves to go to work and come home safely. Quite frankly, no-one deserves a serve.