The government will introduce the bill to the Victorian parliament on Friday in the hope it becomes law by Christmas.

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Ram-raids would become punishable with up to 25 years in prison once re-listed as aggravated burglary. This would also mean children aged 14 and over accused of ram-raids would be dealt with in adult courts under separate reform yet to be drafted but announced earlier this week.

Further consultation will develop workplace protection orders to protect an entire workplace from a violent customer, which the retail union, the SDA, has been campaigning to have introduced for more than two years.

SDA state secretary Michael Donovan said the reforms had taken longer than they should but were a significant move in the right direction.

“For that reason, the government should do everything in its power to have these tougher penalties in place in time for the Christmas shopping rush and the inevitable stress it creates,” he said.

Donovan said he hoped the government would act promptly to deliver workplace protection orders and should model them on the ACT and soon-to-be introduced laws in South Australia.

“We trust this means they will be introduced early next year,” he said.

Workplace protection orders currently only exist in the ACT.

Big businesses have warned that their customer-facing staff dealt with more crime in Victoria than any other state or territory.

Crime statistics released in September show thefts from retail stores had increased by almost 42 per cent in the year to June 30, amounting to more than 20,400 incidents.

Australian Retail Association chief executive Chris Rodwell welcomed the announcement and said it was vital the new laws were passed and enforced immediately.

“It’s encouraging that Victoria has finally acted on the concerns retailers have been raising for two years – that the levels of violence, theft and abuse are out of control and unacceptable,” he said.

He said Victoria should also follow other states in setting up a dedicated police unit for retail crime rather than relying on protective service officers through their existing duties.

“Retail crime in Victoria isn’t just rising – it’s reached crisis proportions,” he said.

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“While this commitment is welcome, there’s room for additional measures.

“Without targeted enforcement and resourcing, the problem won’t change on the ground.”

Grocery giants Coles and Woolworths last month said threatening incidents, violence and aggression was worst at their Victorian stores.

“Violence and aggression is rising across the country, but Victoria accounts for more than 40 per cent of all our reported cases – we need this to change,” Woolworths state operations director Sarah Gooding said in a statement last month.

Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott earlier this year said organised crime had become a significant problem at his company’s Victorian stores, which includes Bunnings, Kmart, Target and Officeworks.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin on Thursday pushed the premier on retail crime during question time.

Allan has spent the week announcing crime reforms that aim to address community concerns.

This has included a pledge to move a range of serious offences out of the Children’s Court, where sentences are a maximum of three years, to adult courts. Children as young as 14 could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty of five violent offences under the change.