A top Australian property developer has unleashed on Victoria, deeming it a ‘criminal’s dream’, while refusing further investments in the state.
Chris Garnaut, founder of Fawkner Property which has a $5bn mall network, said Victoria’s surging retail crime rate had dissuaded the company from future projects.
‘We refuse to buy any more retail assets in Victoria, and if we would consider buying, the cap rate [a measure of returns] would need to be 150 points better than other states,’ he told The Australian.
According to Crime Statistics Agency figures released on Thursday, Victoria had 96,008 offences recorded across retail locations in the 12 months to June 2026.
Of particular note, stealing offences were up 2.3 per cent with 37,398 recorded at a rate of 102 per day, while 5120 assault offences were recorded, at 14 every day.
Retail crime in the state jumped between 2024 and 2025, increasing from 82,738 to 99,000 recorded offences.
While the 2026 figures showed a slight decrease, they still place Victoria as Australia’s retail crime capital.
‘The worst crime rate is in our Coles and Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria’, Garnaut said.
Chris Garnault, founder of Fawkner Property, has labelled Victoria a ‘criminal’s dream state’
Victoria’s burgeoning crime rate is top of the agenda for Premier Ben Carroll as he prepares to head to the polls in November
Theft is the leading offence for retail crime across the nation, with Victorians stealing from the supermarket at a rate of 102 times per day last year
‘Victoria is a criminal’s dream state; steal, bash security guards, walk off, don’t get charged, and on the rare occasion the criminal is charged they are not convicted, and if they are on bail, the bail is typically extended.’
Garnaut’s comments came as the heads of several retail giants called upon Victorian Premier Ben Carroll – who himself used to work at Kmart – to do more to address crime in shops.
Victoria’s Workplace Protection Orders (WPO) scheme, brought forward to begin in March 2027, aims to give retailers the power to bar repeat offenders from entering the workplace.
However, the legislation – which passed at the start of September – was labelled by the Australian Retail Council (ARC) as the country’s ‘weakest’ WPO framework.
Part of the issue is that applicants in Victoria must gain court orders before they can bar offenders from returning to the workplace; while the applicant awaits the court ruling, there is nothing to stop the offender from coming into the retailer and re-offending.
Outgoing Bunnings boss Mike Schneider labelled the Victorian WPOs a ‘missed opportunity’.
‘We see really practical legislation in other jurisdictions like South Australia and the ACT which I think really could have been lifted and shifted and used here in Victoria to create a really strong deterrence for people going into retail settings and thinking they can abuse or assault a retail worker,’ he said.
‘More needs to be done, particularly in Victoria, where the scale of violent retail crime is having a very real impact on workers, customers and businesses every day.’
Coles executive general manager of supermarket operations Martin Smithson is calling for temporary laws to crack down on retail crime
Carroll, pictured alongside Attorney General Sonya Kilkenney, has promised to bring in WPOs in March
However, some retail bosses in Victoria believe the situation is so dire that interim laws are needed immediately
WPOs in South Australia and the ACT give workplaces the power to ban offenders for a minimum of 12 months with prison time on offer for people breaching the orders.
The ability to better crack down on repeat offenders is especially important for retailers, with growing evidence a small cohort is doing disproportionate damage.
‘Around 10 per cent of offenders are responsible for roughly 60 per cent of the harm experienced by retailers,’ Australian Retailers Council chief executive Chris Rodwell said, speaking in March.
‘Workplace Protection Orders are the key missing piece. They provide a clear legal mechanism to prevent known offenders from returning to stores where they’ve caused harm.’
However, some retail bosses in Victoria believe the situation is so dire that interim laws are needed immediately.
‘The purpose of these laws is to protect workers from violence and threatening behaviour, and that protection needs to be available when the risk arises,’ Coles executive general manager of supermarket operations Martin Smithson said.
‘When there is a known risk of violence or threatening behaviour, our team members should not have to remain exposed while the matter is being determined by the courts.
‘Giving courts the ability to issue interim orders would help close that gap and provide an important safeguard for workers while a matter is being considered.’
Anti-theft gates at a Coles in NSW aimed at curbing shoplifting
The sentiment was echoed by executives at Woolworths.
‘Workplace protection orders are a critical tool for protecting our team against violent and repeat offenders, which is why passing this legislation through the Victorian parliament was so important,’ Woolworths head of violence prevention, Sarah Faorlin, told The Australian.
‘Regrettably, by failing to include interim orders, the legislation leaves our team exposed to ongoing harassment and violence while awaiting court decisions. Court processes take time, and during that time, our team members continue to be abused and assaulted by these individuals.’
NSW created three new offences for harassing, stalking or assaulting a retail worker in 2023, carrying maximum penalties of 11 years’ imprisonment.
The state government says it will work on a model for WPOs with unions, police and retailers in coming months with reforms to be introduced later in 2026.
South Australia introduced a WPO model to its parliament in October based on the approach taken in the ACT.
Federal parliament passed a similar scheme to protect Commonwealth workers from violence and harassment in November.
