For teens, a holiday or weekend job is a good way to earn pocket money and learn a new range of skills.
But given the historical and ongoing exploitation of child labour across the globe, strict laws are set out to protect children.
Australia follows the 1973 International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention on a minimum working age. Under this convention, the standard age for employing young people is 15 years old.
But people can start work before that, subject to additional legal protections. Even if young people are volunteers and undertaking unpaid work, there are similar restrictions on their activities to the limits in paid employment.
So if you have a young person in your life who’s thinking about getting a job, it’s worth knowing what the laws and rules are.
Every state in Australia has specific requirements for employing workers who are under 15 years old. These specifications differ from state to state, but most principles are broadly similar.
For employers, they need to hold a child employment licence to employ children under 15.
There are set limits on how many hours young people can work, depending on their age. Generally, they can do up to ten hours each week.
There are also restrictions on doing heavy work. Young workers under 15 years can only undertake light duties. In Victoria, for example, a child cannot work on a building site or on a fishing boat.
There are also rules for when children can work. Working during...
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