Amendments Proposed for Act Protecting Employed Children

Child Employment Amendment Bill 2022

This Bill intends to amend under the Child Employment Act 2003, the meaning of employment, replace child employment officers with authorised officers, enable the Wage Inspectorate Victoria to issue compliance notices for contraventions, increase penalties for certain offences, provide for a new child employment licensing system to allow the employment of children under the age of 15 years, provide for the criminal liability of nominated officers and employer representatives in certain circumstances, and to make other amendments to the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005, including consequential amendments. 

The Principal Act's purpose is amended to protect children from hazardous work which could affect their wellbeing or development.  Under the substituted section 4 of the Principal Act, a child will be considered as employed either under a contract of service or a contract for services (unwritten or written) in a business, trade, or occupation.  It need not be necessary that the child receives payment because benefit may be of a financial or non-financial nature.

Under the Bill, more safeguards are included in order to protect the employed child.  There are two new offences which relate to specific prohibited conduct in entertainment.  Firstly, it is required that a person who employs a child in entertainment must ensure that the child is not subjected to any behaviour that unnecessarily socially isolates the child or that is likely to intimidate, threaten, frighten or humiliate the child.  Secondly, the child should not be made distressed for the purpose of depicting an emotional action or present while another person's private areas are exposed or when there are acts depicting nudity, drug misuse, or violence.

The supervision requirements for children in employment are strengthened by having supervising authorised officers to be present during the casting and audition process of children (for auditions, trial hearings, or viewing of an actor)  Such officers are required to have WWC clearance or an exemption from the WWC clearance requirement or to be the parent or guardian of the child.  A person is deemed exempted from the WWC clearance if he or she is a protective services officer.  As there is already a provision under the Principle Act which limits the hours of work permitted during school hours, under the Bill, such provision does not apply to children who are exempted from enrollment, attendance, or both at school. 

New section 46A allows the Wage Inspectorate Victoria to issue a compliance notice to a person if the Wage Inspectorate Victoria reasonably believes that the person has contravened the Principal Act.  New section 46C inserts an offence that requires a person to whom a compliance notice is issued to take the action specified in the notice by the date specified in the notice, or if the Wage Inspectorate Victoria extended the date, by that later date.  Section 46D(1) provides that on or before the date specified in a compliance notice no proceeding may be commenced for an offence against the Principal Act that is constituted by the alleged contravention to which the compliance notice relates and no other enforcement action may be taken in respect of the alleged contravention.  If a person fulfils all of the requirements of a compliance notice, after the date specified in the notice, if a person fulfils all of the requirements of a compliance notice, after the date specified in the notice and no other enforcement action may be taken in respect of the alleged contravention.  

Section 46D(3) provides that the fulfillment of the requirements of a compliance notice by a person is not and must not be taken to be an admission of guilt if the provision of the Principal Act specified in the compliance notice is an offence or an admission that the person has contravened the provision of the Principal Act specified in the notice for the purposes of any enforcement action.  Under the proposed Bill, offences relating to giving false or misleading information now have increased penalties. 

In the later part of the Bill, amendments are made in relation to licensing and criminal liability of employer representatives and nominated officers.  It is provided that a single person may hold the roles of both employer representative and supervisor of a child employed under a licence.  New section 13 sets out the process for applying for a licence authorising the employment of children under the new scheme.  The section also sets out requirements for applications to nominate persons for certain roles for general and entertainment licences, including the role of a nominated officer who is a person nominated by the employer with authority to speak and act on behalf of the employer on matters related to the engagement of the child as well as an employment representative who is a person in the workplace with the ability to direct the work of the child. 

Overall, provisions are made under this Bill to strengthen the safeguards for employed children which are already present under the Principal Act.