Grand Central Shopping Centre: Toowoomba security staff reveal shock violence claims

Security guards at one of Queensland’s largest shopping centres have made shocking claims of violence at the venue, and say their employer is refusing requests for more staff or protective gear.

Security guards at Grand Central Shopping Centre are walking off the job, claiming violence is commonplace at the centre and calls for safety improvements have been ignored.

News Corp Australia spoke to multiple current and former security staff that allege the centre’s security contractor, Springmount Services, has a culture of bullying and neglect.

They claim Springmount Services has disregarded calls for extra safety measures such as employing more staff so the guards can patrol in pairs, and outfitting them with stab-proof vests.

The company denies the claims.

The allegations come after police were called to a savage bashing at the centre on Sunday where a teenage girl was left with injuries requiring hospital treatment.

One Springmount Services employee claimed more than a dozen security cleaning staff members had quit or were fired without notice in the past two months.

This included staff who had worked at the centre well before Springmount Services secured the contract to provide security and cleaning services to Grand Central Shopping Centre only 18 months ago.

The employee, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear they would be fired for speaking up, said incidents like Sunday’s assault happened about twice a week.

“We know who the offenders are because they are usually the same people,” they said.

“We are not given what we need to do the job, we don’t have any support and when we have taken our concerns about staff to the company we are told to shut up and do our job.

“Only last week we had a teen drop a knife on the food court floor and everyone lost their minds.

“We see a lot of knives.”

Exterior staircase of Grand Central shopping centre as seen from Mylne St residential tower block, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Former Springmount Services employees alleged the company slashed guard numbers from five per shift to two in May 2022, about six months into its contact with the centre’s owner Queensland Investment Corporation.

One ex-employee who had worked at the centre for several years described Springmount as “rookies”.

“They stepped into something that they were not prepared for,” he said.

Another ex-employee with more than five years of experience in the industry described working for Springmount Services as “a nightmare”.

“I saw violence on almost every shift and there was loads of shoplifting,” they said.

“The staff needed stab-proof vests and we were asking for them from the day I started.”

According to Queensland Police data, there have been 763 offences in the Grand Central Shopping Central precinct in the past year.

This number includes offences inside the centre and on the streets outside.

Of the offences, there were 107 public nuisance incidents, 55 assaults, 20 Weapons Act offences and one homicide.

Generic security guard. Picture: iStock

The union confirmed that it was aware of the staff concerns and was working through them with Springmount Service and the centre’s owner, the Queensland Investment Corporation.

“When there is a fight, there is not really much we can do, we are there to work so we have to keep our heads down,” she said.

“We close the door and call security.

“We want extra security guards around and they should have more support because the police are busy with crimes all over the city.”

When asked about the staff concerns, Springmount CEO Andrew Walton said he strongly denied the assertion that there was a culture of bullying at the company.

“Springmount Services has a proud tradition of a supportive culture and long-term staff,” he said.

“Our employee turnover rate is well under industry standards, with many team members having been with the company for five – 20 years.

“We are proud to be an employer in Toowoomba and are keen to continue joining the community in efforts to discourage crime.”

generic Grand Central, Margaret Street. Toowoomba CBD.

Mr Andrews claimed the rostering changes were made after consultation with the staff and that the company has conducted a “careful and deliberate review on the need for any additional PPE for our staff and will continue to do so.”

“We have raised this with our client and is currently under review, we have not refused this request,” Mr Andrews said.

“Springmount has not refused to provide additional guards, and this is currently under review by us and our client.

The current levels provided are in line with industry norms.”

Grand Central Shopping Centre is one of 35 shopping centres owned by the state government through the QIC, 23 of which are Australian with 12 in the United States.

A spokeswoman for QIC’s retail assets division said it would investigate the concerns raised by the staff as a “matter of priority”.

“We’re supportive of any appropriate measures which protect our team members on site. For example, body-worn cameras were recently introduced into the uniform of some of our Security team, which has improved the safety of team members,” she said.

“Security team numbers at the centre are in line with industry standards, and we continue to work with our contractor on an ongoing basis to review this as required.

“The security team members do a wonderful job, and are an integral part of the Grand Central team.”