Retail Trading Act 2008
The Shop Trading Amendment Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 29 November 2010 and has made the following major amendments to the Shop Trading Act 2008, which will now be known as the Retail Trading Act 2008.
Sydney Trading Precinct
The Retail Trading Act 2008 has been amended to provide for the permanent creation of a Sydney Trading Precinct, within which all shops are permitted to trade on Boxing Day. Please note that the usual restrictions will continue to apply on the other three and a half restricted trading days.
The Sydney Trading Precinct is the area described in the Retail Trading Regulation 2009 as:
(a) having a northern boundary composed by the southern shoreline of Port Jackson Harbour, extending from Rushcutters Bay to Jubilee Park at Blackwattle Bay, and
(b) having a western boundary extending from Jubilee Park at Blackwattle Bay, along the western side of Glebe Point Road to Parramatta Road, and then in a direct line to the corner of City Road and Cleveland Street, Chippendale, and
(c) having a south-western boundary extending from the corner of City Road and Cleveland Street, Chippendale, proceeding in a direct line to the corner of South Dowling Street and Todman Avenue, Kensington, and
(d) having a south-eastern boundary from the corner of South Dowling Street and Todman Avenue, Kensington, proceeding in a direct line to the corner of Council Street and Bondi Road, Bondi Junction, and
(e) having a north-eastern boundary from the corner of Council Street and Bondi Road, Bondi Junction, proceeding in a direct line to the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay, and then in a direct line due north to the southern shoreline of Port Jackson Harbour.
Included in the precinct will be Darling Harbour, Broadway Shopping Centre, Moore Park Supa Centre, Fox Studios Entertainment Quarter, Bondi Junction and Kings Cross.
An illustration of the Sydney trading precinct (pdf - 460Kb) is available.
topVoluntary staffing provisions
The Retail Trading Act 2008 has been amended to apply voluntary staffing provisions to shops identified in Schedule 1 as Exempt Shops. This will mean that shops exempt under Schedule 1 must, when opening on a restricted trading day, be staffed only by persons who have freely elected to work on the day, without any coercion, harassment, threat or intimidation by or on behalf of the shop occupier. (This is similar to the rights currently enjoyed by staff in shops that obtain express approval to open on a restricted trading day or are within an exempt tourist zone.) This requirement does not apply to small shops, whether a Schedule 1 shop or not.
Evidence that a shop is not closed
Section 18 of the Retail Trading Act 2008 has been amended to extend the circumstances in which a shop will be deemed to be open on a restricted trading day. A shop will now be taken not to be closed if goods were received, or unpacked or otherwise prepared for sale at the shop, or if stocktaking was carried out in respect of goods offered or exposed for sale at the shop.
Application to certain liquor shops
The Retail Trading Act 2008 has been amended by inserting section 6A to make it clear that the occupiers of premises which have packaged liquor licences under the Liquor Act 2007 are subject to the provisions of the Retail Trading Act. The section provides that nothing in the Liquor Act 2007, or in any packaged liquor licence under that Act, operates to exempt a shop from the requirement to be kept closed on a restricted trading day.
Bank trading provisions
Existing provisions under the Bank and Bank Holidays Act 1912 dealing with bank trading days will be incorporated into the Retail Trading Act from 31 December 2010. This will also include amendments enabling banks to seek approval to open on public holidays, other than those days which are restricted trading days under the Retail Trading Act 2008. Provisions extending the August Bank holiday to other financial institutions will commence on 31 December 2010.