Store owners facing 70 criminal charges, according to Wage Inspectorate Victoria
The owners and operators of Donut King stores in Rosebud Plaza and Berwick are being accused of violating Victoria's child employment laws.
Minto Nominees Pty Ltd. is facing 70 criminal charges in the Magistrates' Court of Victoria for allegedly violating the Child Employment Act 2003 between January 1 and July 6, 2024.
According to the Wage Inspectorate Victoria, the alleged contraventions are:
Employing three children under the age of 15 without a licence on 30 occasions
Failing to ensure the children are supervised by someone with a Working with Children Clearance
Failing to provide rest breaks of at least 30 minutes after every three hours of work
Employing children for longer than three hours per day during a school term
Employing children for longer than six hours per day during school holidays
The maximum penalty for each offence is $47,422, according to the state's child employment watchdog, which refused to issue further a statement while the matter is in court.
In Victoria, employers are mandated by law to obtain a licence from the Wage Inspectorate if they want to hire an individual under the age of 15.
"This enables the Wage Inspectorate to check matters like safety, hours of work, rest breaks and supervision are properly considered before employment starts," the watchdog said on its website.
It further stressed that workers under 15 should be supervised by someone with a valid Victorian Working with Children Clearance.
During a school term, children can only be employed for a maximum of three hours a day and 12 hours per week. On holidays, they can be employed for up to six hours daily and 30 hours a week.
Under the rules, employed children should also receive a 30-minute rest break after every three hours of work.
Data from the Wage Inspectorate revealed that more than 1,000 licences for the employment of over 8,800 children have been granted as of September 2024.
By December, the Wage Inspectorate said 52% of the licences it issued were for regional businesses.
Nearly half of kids (49%) in the workforce are also located in regional Victoria, particularly in Barwon South West, where a total of 216 children are working as of December 2024.
"As a country kid myself, I'm not surprised to see so many country businesses giving local kids the opportunity to enter the workforce and earn their first paycheck," said Commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria Robert Hortle in a statement.
According to Hortle, having many regional kids wanting to work means businesses in the area have an "even greater incentive" to learn about child employment laws.
"Kids working in regional areas can be a great help to businesses and the experience can be invaluable for the kids. It's win-win, as long as it is done safely and legally," Hortle said.
"You don't want your well-intentioned decision to give a kid their first job to put you on the wrong side of the law."
The Victorian government previously introduced a new licencing system that can reduce the burden on employees and allow them to save time.
"The new licensing system has saved businesses from having to apply for almost 9,000 individual permits. That's time back in their day, and we know for businesses, time is money," Hortle said.
The government also hiked the maximum penalty for employing a child without a licence to more than $200,000, a major surge from the previous $18,500.
"Tougher penalties show that taking advantage of children in the workplace will not be tolerated," Hortle said. "These are serious laws with serious consequences, and the Wage Inspectorate won't hesitate to take serious offending to court."
