Employing young people
Know your legal requirements when you employ people under 18 and the extra rules for employing under 15s in the ACT.
Standards for employing children and young people
To employ someone who’s under 18 in the ACT, you must follow the Children and Young People Employment Standards.
The standards cover:
- allowed working hours
- supervision requirements
- type of works allowed
- risk levels.
All other laws and regulations that cover employing adults also apply to workers under 18.
These laws also apply:
- if the young person is part of your family. This includes any unpaid work they do in a family business.
- to voluntary and unpaid work.
For more about the rights of young workers and the responsibilities of employers, read the Young People at Work Guide [PDF 979kB].
To check if you need to apply for an exemption to employ a young person, read the Employment of children and young people checklist [PDF 554kB].
Employing under 18s
There are no restrictions on the hours people aged 15 to 17 can work.
Work for under 18s must not:
- get in the way of their education
- be during school hours if they are attending school.
Employing under 15s
Some of the standards only apply to those under 15.
Allowable work
Work for under 15s must:
- be light work
- suit the physical and emotional maturity of the person
- have adequate supervision and work safety standards.
High risk
Work must not be high risk.
High risk work involves:
- dangerous machinery or substances
- high elevations
- service of alcohol
- gaming or gambling
- nudity
- extreme temperatures
- heavy construction and excavation.
If you believe your work may be high risk, contact us for guidance. You may be able to apply for a high risk employment permit.
Apprenticeships and work experience
People under 15 generally cannot start apprenticeships or do work experience.
Hours allowed
Hours for employees under 15 must be no more than 10 hours a week in total.
They can only work one shift a day:
- up to 3 hours a day for children under 3
- up to 4 hours a day children aged 4 to 12
- up to 6 hours a day for children aged 12 to 15
- outside of school hours for those required to be at school
Consent required
To employ someone under 15 in the ACT you must have both:
- their consent (doesn’t need to be written)
- the written consent of their parent or guardian.
You must tell parents about the kind of work their child will be doing. They can withdraw their consent at any time.
You can use the parental consent form template [PDF 278kB]. You can apply your corporate branding.
You must keep consent forms.
Extension of working hours
To extend working hours (for example, during school holidays), the young person must agree in writing.
You must use the additional hours consent form [PDF 526kB]. You can apply your corporate branding.
You must keep consent forms.
Supervision required
Children between 0 and 3 (usually doing photographic work) must always be supervised by a parent or guardian, or by a suitably qualified child development expert.
Children under 12 must be supervised by a parent or guardian or by a responsible adult approved by a parent or guardian.
Young people aged 12 to 14 must be supervised by a responsible adult
If your work falls outside the standards
If the work a young person will do with you does not meet the standards, you must contact us. You must do this at least 7 days before the work starts.
We may issue an exemption. For example, high risk work may be allowed if it’s not likely to harm the young person’s health, safety or personal or social development.
It is an offence if you employ a young person and do not meet the standards.
Contact us
For permits and guidance on the standards and other laws on employing children and young people in the ACT email CSDCYFyoungworkers@act.gov.au.
Read more
Young People at Work Guide [PDF 979kB] has more information about the rights of young workers and the responsibilities of employers.
Employment of children and young people checklist [PDF 554kB] helps employers and young people understand if they need to apply for an exemption to employ a young person.
If you want to read more about what the law says about employing young people, read: