If successful, this legal bid could grow trade by $111 million per year.
That's according to the National Retail Association (NRA), which is launching a legal bid to overhaul trading hour legislation in south east Queensland.
The NRA has lodged the bid with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
The NRA will bid to unify 10 separate trading hours time zones between Noosa and Coolangatta and west to Ipswich.
If successful, it is claimed the application would add $111 million to the Queensland economy, and drive the creation of 1000 new jobs.
NRA Chief Executive Officer Trevor Evans said the application would seek to create a single south east Queensland zone for trading hours.
Under the scheme, stores would be able to open between 7am and 9pm on weekdays and Saturdays.
There would be no changes to Sunday or public holiday trading hours or areas outside the south east.
Smaller stores, and those already exempt from the rules, would also not be affected by the changes.
No stores would be forced to open.
“We are seeking 7am to 9pm consistent opening hours from Monday to Saturday in south east Queensland,” Evans said.
“This does not represent any radical shift in the balance currently struck by the trading hours rules, but it will get us as close as is possible to having one consistent set of rules again, at least within the south east corner.
“If our application were to succeed, the biggest change would be that all residents in south east Queensland would have access to the full range of shops on Saturdays between 5pm and 9pm.
“Currently, some but not all residents, depending on where they live, get to shop on Saturday evenings, whereas others have the doors closed in their faces at 5pm sharp.
“The 5pm close on Saturdays is an old rule that has not been reviewed in 20 years. The world has changed a lot in that time, and we believe the shopping habits of residents in this large metropolitan region have moved on.”
The NRA believed that more than 1000 jobs can be created in the region by harmonising opening hours and giving employers and store managers greater control over their own operations.
“The Productivity Commission recently identified trading hours regulation as one of the major cost imposts on Australian retailers, and a major obstacle to job creation and prosperity,” Evans said.
“Queensland has the most complex trading hours rules in Australia, with 98 pages of legislation, regulations and instruments, containing over 180 legal obligations and prohibitions. The state currently has 50 different trading hours zones, each with its own different rules.
“In many cases in south-east Queensland, retailers operating within walking distance of each other are governed by different trading hours regulation.
“This application will not only make life easier for shoppers, if it succeeds. It will also simplify operating conditions for business owners, grow Queensland’s trade by $111 million per year, and may start hundreds of new, young workers on the road to a rewarding career.”