Aussie furious after being booted from shopping centre for being barefoot: 'Overreaction'

A woman who has been barefoot for 30 years has been left outraged after she was kicked out of a shopping centre for not wearing any shoes. 

The shopper claimed management at Sunshine Plaza in Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast asked her to leave the complex on Saturday. 

The woman said she had been walking barefoot on city streets and in shopping centres for decades and only wore shoes 'at work or when I really have to'. 

'Was at Sunshine Plaza today and was asked to leave as I wasn't wearing any shoes,' she wrote in a community Facebook page. 

'Since when has being barefoot been illegal? Has anyone else been told this?

The woman said the decision to kick her out of the centre had been an 'overreaction' and asked who was personally impacted by her bare feet. 

'I do it all the time, even in Brisbane city, never had a problem before,' she said.

The woman said she wasn't worried about the build-up of dust on the soles of her feet because it 'washed right off'. 

However, not everyone was convinced. 

Group members questioned her decision to go barefoot, with one person claiming diseases could be spread this way. 

'Can't be that easy,' she hit back in the comments. 

'I've been going barefoot into shopping centres and walking on city streets for just over 30 years and never got anything.' 

Sunshine Plaza's manager Michael Manwaring has since released a statement reminding customers that they are required to wear 'suitable' footwear while shopping. 

'In line with our centre policy, all visitors to Sunshine Plaza are required to wear suitable attire and footwear at all times,' he said.

'As always, maintaining essential standards to support the health, safety and well-being for all our customers, retailers and staff is our number one priority.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Sunshine Plaza for comment. 

While barefoot shopping is supposedly commonplace in Australia, one woman from Hungary has provoked several disgusted reactions with her shoe-less feet. 

Content creator 'Loser Ana' has posted several videos of her doing her grocery shop while barefoot in her local Tesco. 

In one video, she says she was approached by another woman who asked why she was barefoot and if her feet were cold. 

'It was very fun to shop barefoot in Tesco and to be honest with you people most of the time are very, very friendly to be being barefoot,' she said in a TikTok video. 

'Today we got a woman coming up to me saying "aren't you cold, you should be wearing shoes" but it was ok, it was all with good intentions. 

'I don't mind when people come up to me and just ask some questions.'

It comes as a couple who went barefoot to their local Woolworths last year were slammed for not wearing shoes in the busy supermarket. 

After the woman uploaded a TikTok of them choosing their groceries, a group of Americans commented on the video asking why they were barefoot. 

'Wait so why is your boyfriend not wearing shoes?' one viewer asked.

'Can we talk about the fact he has no shoes on,' another said. 

However, fellow Aussies were quick to defend the couple, who live on the coast. 

'As a fellow Aussie I say that it's 100 per cent normal to go without shoes. I don't know what everyone else is on about,' one said. 

'Too many non Aussies about the shoes. What are all the 7ft spiders going to bite if you cover your feet up?' another joked.