One in every 15 Australian children aged between 5 and 14 have been in employment, a parliamentary inquiry has heard. But federal officials could not answer how many were working in safe and lawful conditions.
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Employment department officials have revealed 214,500 children under the age of 15 were engaged in some work over the previous financial year.
The parliament is preparing to ratify a 1973 convention on minimum ages for child labour. All Australian states and territories considered themselves compliant with the International Labour Organization convention.
Exemptions in the convention permit children engaged in light work such as paper rounds, apprenticeships, school-related work and the entertainment industry. It also prohibits dangerous work undertaken by children under 18 years of age.
Josh Wilson, who chairs the parliamentary committee on treaties, noted Australia would face new international monitoring if joined the 175 other countries that have already ratified the convention.
At a hearing on Monday, he pressed officials on instances of child labour that was already illegal under Australian law.
"We know that it occurs, it must occur to a small degree at least," the Labor MP said.
"Because it's one thing where we have a law that says this shall not occur, it's a separate question as to whether you've got the frameworks in place to make sure ... there are legal consequences."
Breaches are handled under state and territory laws.
Senior departmental official Greg Manning said he was not aware of national monitoring of contraventions of state and territory laws against child labour but would inquire further.
"I don't think that there is [monitoring] and that goes to how does Australia comply because this is a situation where, as set out in the national interest analysis, there's not one neat prohibition saying this cannot occur."
Most state and territory laws ban children from leaving education before completing year 10, except when an oversight body found it in the best interest of the child. Typically for health-related reasons, the committee heard.
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The Australian government wanted the convention ratified to give more credibility as it took a leadership role in the region on ending child labour and improving working conditions.
Having high labour standards was also a common component of free trade agreement negotiations, the officials confirmed.
The percentage of children in Australia in employment (6.7 per cent) remains largely the same as a survey undertaken in 2006, which found 175,100 children in employment, the last Australian figures cited by the International Labour Organization.
A further 367,100 children aged between 15 and 17 were engaged in employment in the previous 12 months, an August 2022 labour force survey found.
All state and territory leaders rejected a proposal from the previous federal Coalition government last year to allow children under the age of 18 to operate forklifts.
The proposal, floated by former prime minister Scott Morrison as a solution to the COVID-related shortage of forklift drivers in grocery distribution centres, would have contravened the convention.
A company behind an early learning app for the federal government faced court action last year over allegations of breaching Victorian laws over the employment of children under 15.
In announcing the government's plan last year to ratify the convention, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said doing so would reflect Australia's strong domestic laws which prioritise education and safe employment for children.
"Australia has robust standards on safe and appropriate employment for children. Ratification of the convention demonstrates our commitment to strong international labour standards," he said.
