Private sector employers and employees
Telephone: 1300 655 266
Mailing address
Locked Bag 100
East Perth WA 6892
The below text is provided for accessibility and is the same as the text in the attached information brochure.
If you run or manage a business that is a takeaway food or fast food store you need to know:
There are exclusions if the child is working in a family business owned by a relative such as a parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent, or the organisation is a charity or not-for-profit organisation.
More information about employment of children in the takeaway food businesses is available on the Wageline website at www.dmirs.wa.gov.au/wageline or by calling Wageline on 1300 655 266.
The Wageline website also contains:
The Children and Community Services Act 2004 regulates the employment of children under the age of 15 years in Western Australia. These child employment laws apply to all Western Australian employers.
Workplace safety is also a critical issue for all workers in food businesses - find out more about your safety obligations from WorkSafe on 1300 307 877 or www.dmirs.wa.gov.au/worksafe.
Laws prohibit children who are 13 or 14 years old working in a takeaway food or fast food business after 10pm unless the business is owned by a close relative.
A few years ago a Perth business was fined $30,000 by the Industrial Magistrates Court for illegally employing a total of 16 children across three fast food outlets. The fine was the result of 16 charges under the Children and Community Service Act 2004 of unlawfully employing children aged less than 15 years.
The charges arose out of the employer working the children on 153 separate occasions in shifts of work that were completed after 10pm. In one instance a 14 year old employee was rostered to work until 1am.
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