MEMBER LOGIN ERMS PORTAL
Pride-logo
ARA Australian Retailers Association
  • ABOUT
    ABOUT
    • About Us
    • Our History
    • Advisory Committees
    • Council
    • Leadership Team
    • Strategic Partners
    • Registered Training Organisation
  • JOIN THE ARA
  • SERVICES
    SERVICES
    • Advocacy & Policy
    • Employment Relations Advice
    • Human Resources (ERMS) Portal 
    • Legal Assistance
    • Tenancy Advice
    • Training & Education
    • Member Benefits Program
    • ARA Insurance
    • ARA Talent Registry
  • TRAINING
    TRAINING
    • Retail Ready Training
    • Career Upskilling
    • Leadership Training
    • Business Solutions
    • Industry Projects
    • Hire Talented Staff
    • Financial Literacy Education Program
  • RESOURCES
    RESOURCES
    • ARA Retail Review Report 2022
    • Business support
    • Covid-19 Resource Hub
    • Gender Equality
    • Media
    • News & Insights
    • Reconciliation
    • Podcasts
    • Research Hub
    • Sustainability
  • EVENTS
    EVENTS
    • Upcoming Events
    • OnDemand Recordings
    • First Responders Day 2022
    • ARA Gala No.1
    • ARA Leaders Forum 2023
  • Contact Us
    Access our Covid-19 resource hub for up-to-date state and territory restrictions
    Australian Retailers Association

    Labour shortages must be addressed to power Queensland’s growth

    • Tuesday 21 June 2022

     

    Australia’s peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), said today’s Queensland Budget demonstrates the strength of the Queensland economy, but called for greater collaboration between government and retail in resolving the acute labour and skills shortages. 

     

    ARA CEO Paul Zahra said as Australia’s largest private sector employer, resolving retail’s labour crisis is critical to job and business sustainability. 

     

    “It’s fantastic to see Queensland emerge from the pandemic with such a strong economic report card. However, a retail recovery is critical to an economic recovery, and for many there can be no business growth without immediately addressing labour shortages and supply chain challenges,” Mr Zahra said.

       

    “We would like to see greater measures to address and help ease some of the acute labour and skills shortages – from training and reskilling measures to the use of mature workforce talent. On this front we commend the governments focus on supporting a diverse workforce and in particular schemes to boost the employment prospects of women and people with a disability.

     

    “We look forward to further details on how the skills and training measures will flow through to critically constrained sectors such as retail – including hair and beauty and hospitality.  

     

    “There is also an acute skills shortage within the technology and digital area, which presents another unfortunate growth barrier to retailers looking to leverage the fantastic e-commerce gains from the pandemic.  

     

    “Queensland has a powerful track record in business innovation and entrepreneurship, and we would like to see more focused efforts to grow the pipeline of digital and technical talent.  

     

    “With the rising cost of living impacting household budgets, we’re pleased to see $6.8 billion worth concessions for families and businesses. Some of this support will ultimately flow through to the retail economy in the form of retail spending.  

     

    “Small business is the life blood of the Queensland economy, and we are pleased to see the state government continue its strong support with cuts to payroll tax along with a number of other small business support initiatives. 

     

    “We also acknowledge the Queensland government’s continued commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion measures, and strongly support the significant investments to boost women’s economic security as well as the continued investment in domestic violence support measures. Retail is an employer of choice for women and these measures are strongly supported.

     

    “Retailers are also looking to governments for greater leadership on climate action to help with their own sustainability initiatives. We would like to see deeper collaboration within sustainability initiatives between highly impacted industry areas such as retail, government and the innovation community and will continue our discussions with the government on that front. 

     

    “We have seen clearly through Covid the intrinsic link between health and the health of our economy and we commend the Queensland government on their record investment to strengthen the state’s health system.” 

     

     

    Media Enquiries: 

    Dominic Cuschieri

    M 0418 224 072 

    E dominic.cuschieri@retail.org.au  

     

    About us: The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the oldest, largest and most diverse national retail body, representing a $360bn sector which employs 1.3 million Australians and is the largest private sector employer in the country. As Australia’s peak retail body, representing more than 100,000 retail shop fronts and online stores, the ARA informs, advocates, educates, protects and unifies our independent, national and international retail community. To learn more about ARA’s exclusive member benefits and more, visit retail.org.au

    SHARE THIS ARTICLE
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin

    Recent Releases

    Australian Retailers Association

    New research shows consumers drawn to brands that act on plastics

    Businesses that lead the way in eradicating plastics will increase customer loyalty and trust, according to research from the Australian Retailers...

    READ MORE
    Australian Retailers Association

    Labour shortages must be addressed to power Queensland’s growth

      Australia’s peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), said today’s Queensland Budget demonstrates the strength of the Queensland...

    READ MORE
    Australian Retailers Association

    Retailers welcome NSW Budget measures to support women and boost workforce participation

      The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has congratulated the NSW Government for its strong leadership on women, with significant investments to...

    READ MORE
    See All

    Sign up for ARA newsletters

    Strategic Partners

    • Afterpay white logo-1
    • Amex-logo-2
    • Deloitte-1
    • Fabric-logo-2
    • Hitch Advisory - Logo - white-2
    • mastercard-logo-white-2
    • QUT_SQUARE_MONO_REV-2
    • Rest-logo
    • Salesforce-1

    Partners

    • 1200px-Amazon_Web_Services_Logo_edited_edited
    • good360 logo
    • Meta_lockup_mono_white_RGB-1
    • mst marguee_edited_edited_edited
    • Officeworks_Logo_White_RGB
    • RM

    Supporters

    • NRF-logp
    • Australian-CCI-logo
    • Associations-forum-logo
    • FIRA-logo-1280x500 (1)_edited
    • GS1_Australia_Full-Transparency_White_827x436

    About

    • About
    • Member Benefits
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Code of Ethics
    • ARA COVIDSafe Retail Plan

    Training

    • RTO Policies & Procedures
    • Compliance
    • Nationally Recognised Training Officer

    Contact us

    phone-icon.png

    1300 368 041

    envelope-icon.png

    info@retail.org.au

    place-icon.png

    Level 1,  112 Wellington Pde

    East Melbourne 3002

    Join our community

    The ARA acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and live. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and also recognise Australia’s First Nations’ peoples as Australia’s first traders with a sophisticated network of trading paths that have facilitated the exchange of goods, knowledge and culture for millennia

    Copyright Australian Retailers Association 2021

    ALREADY AN ARA MEMBER?

    Login to view member-only content:

    Login

    NOT AN ARA MEMBER YET?

    Join us today to access ARA member-only content and events.

    Register Now