Draft legislation set to be introduced to South Australia’s state Parliament would allow retailers to open two hours earlier on Sundays, at 9am. 

If passed, the legislation would also permit Boxing Day trading across metropolitan Adelaide between 9am and 5pm.

Both of the nation’s retail associations have welcomed the move.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra described the proposed changes as “a small but significant step” in modernising South Australia’s outdated trading hour regime.

“The ARA has spent years advocating for more flexible trading hours in South Australia, so this announcement is a positive move forward for our members, and for consumers as well, who’ll benefit from extended trading on Sundays,” Zahra said.

“The 11am opening time on Sundays only serves as a handbrake on the state’s economy. Moving this time forward to 9am is a welcome improvement and brings South Australia in line with other jurisdictions.”

NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said the changes would “create hundreds of opportunities for new or additional work” as well as open up shopping and leisure choices for consumers.

“While we need to respect people’s right to enjoy some downtime on the weekends, we also need to treat employers, workers and shoppers as adults and allow them to make the choice that suits them best,” she said. 

“In other states, these extended trading hours have been accompanied by a safeguard to prevent workers being forced to work if they don’t want to, and those rules have served to protect retail staff. For many staff, the penalty rates that apply on a Sunday morning make it very attractive to go work,” said Lamb.

The ARA supports full deregulation of shop trading hours in all states, allowing retailers to trade and customers can shop when they want. 

The NRA points out that shopping-centre leasing arrangements contain safeguards that allow businesses to choose whether to trade when governments extend opening times beyond standard hours.