The owner of a business supplying canteen services to community sports clubs has been served with 139 criminal charges in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria over alleged breaches of Victoria’s child employment laws.
The state’s child employment watchdog, Wage Inspectorate Victoria, alleges that between 3 June and 10 September 2023, the owner contravened the Child Employment Act 2003 by employing:
- 10 children without a permit or licence on 64 occasions
- 3 children below the minimum age of employment on 19 occasions
- 10 children for more than 3 hours a day during the school term on 56 occasions.
The maximum penalty for a person employing a child without a permit and for employing a child below the minimum age of employment was $11,095 in the 2022-23 financial year, but this increased to $46,154 in 2023-24 following amendments to the law, which saw a licensing system replace permits.
The maximum penalty for a person employing a child to work for more hours than they are permitted was $22,190 in the 2022-23 financial year and $23,711 in the 2023-24 financial year. The matter is listed for mention in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 5 August 2024.
The Wage Inspectorate will make no
