A myth-busting campaign from the Wage Inspectorate Victoria has found that over three quarters of businesses in regional areas that employed children were not complying with the law.
Releasing a report on its proactive enforcement campaign, the Inspectorate said the campaign targeted the employment of children in the fast food, restaurant and cafe industry in Phillip Island, Drouin, Warragul, Wonthaggi, Inverloch and surrounding areas.
It said Authorised Child Employment Officers checked 225 businesses for compliance during the campaign and found 76 per cent of the businesses that employed children did not have permits and were not compliant with the law.
“These businesses that did not have a permit were referred for comprehensive investigation,” the Inspectorate said.
“Fifty per cent of the businesses that did not comply with the Child Employment permit laws were located in the Phillip Island/San Remo region,” it said.
“Many businesses that were visited as part of the campaign had advised they were unaware that they could employ children under the age of 15 years with the appropriately issued permit.”
The Inspectorate said many employers told Officers that they believed children could be legally employed at 14 years and 9 months of age, “which is not true”.
“This myth is widespread among the Victorian community and has reinforced one of the purposes of the campaign to educate business owners about the requirements under Victorian child employment laws,” it said.
“[Businesses] need to apply for a child employment permit if they employ anyone under 15 years.”
The Inspectorate said most non-compliant employers fully cooperated with the Wage Inspectorate and were educated about their obligations.
It said the businesses were also put on notice that any future non-compliance with the law would be met with more serious penalties, while one employer remained under investigation.
It said consequences for breaking the law ranged from warnings to fines of more than $18,000 for companies and $11,000 for individuals, while parents could be fined about $2,000 for letting their child work for an employer without a permit.
The Inspectorate’s campaign report can be accessed at this PS News link.
