People who cause serious bodily harm to Tasmania’s frontline workers will face six months’ jail time, with the state government introducing legislation into Parliament this week to provide better protections.

The Sentencing Amendment (Presumptive Sentencing for Assaults on Frontline Workers) Bill 2024 seeks to amend the Sentencing Act 1997 to set a presumption of minimum sentencing in relation to offences causing serious bodily harm to frontline workers including health workers, correctional service officers, retail and hospitality workers, child safety officers, and emergency services officers such as firefighters.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Guy Barnett, labelled the move a strong step to better protecting Tasmanians in their workplace.

“We have heard of horrific instances of bus drivers being spat on and physically injured, our nurses punched, and young retail workers assaulted across Tasmania,” the Attorney-General said.

“The fact of the matter is, this is completely unacceptable, these are Tasmanians simply trying to do their job.”