South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas has granted a special Ministerial exemption under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1997 giving all retailers – regardless of size and location – the opportunity to trade from 9am to 5pm on Monday, 8 March 2021.
This is the first time in the state’s history that all shops across suburban Adelaide will be permitted to open their doors on the Adelaide Cup Day public holiday.
Previously, larger, non-exempt retailers in the CBD were able to trade on this particular day from 11am to 5pm. Under this exemption, they will be granted an extra 2 hours’ trade in the morning. Non-exempt shops in the suburbs were not allowed to trade at all on this day but can now trade from 9am to 5pm.
The exemption will not affect smaller shops (ie those under 200sqm) and supermarkets (those under 400sqm) across Adelaide who can trade whenever they like, and can open on the Adelaide Cup Day public holiday.
The exemption will allow greater freedom of choice but stores should not feel compelled to trade these additional hours. For those who choose to do so, a condition of the exemption is that your employees MUST volunteer to work these extended hours rather than being rostered on.
The National Retail Association is a leader in the area of trading hours reform and we continue to work with governments in numerous states to achieve an appropriate balance between the needs of shoppers, workers, small businesses, large retailers and shopping centres.
Read more about trading hour restrictions in your state or territory