One of Australia’s largest catalogue distribution companies has been hit with more than 2,400 criminal charges for allegedly breaching Victorian child employment laws, by allegedly hiring youths aged under 15 without permits.
The state’s wage regulator, Wage Inspectorate Victoria, has filed the 2,425 criminal charges against Ive Distribution Pty Ltd in the Melbourne magistrates court.
It alleges that between July and September last year the company breached the state’s Child Employment Act by employing children under the age of 15 without permits.
It is alleged the company hired more than 400 children to deliver catalogues and flyers across the state.
The matter is expected to be heard in court on 2 October.
In Victoria, a child can legally deliver newspaper and advertising materials from the age of 11 if the employer holds a child employment permit or licence.
In a statement, Ive Distribution said it has been granted individual permits and a company-wide licence.
“IVE Distribution is pleased the Wage Inspectorate Victoria has granted us over 70 individual permits and, more recently, a company-wide child employment licence to continue our walker distribution program,” the company said.
“The program teaches kids valuable life skills while being paid to deliver flyers and catalogues by walking around their neighbourhoods and has existed for 44 years.
“Given the inspectorate’s apparent support for the program, where kids only make deliveries following parental consent and often walk together as a family, we are disappointed the inspectorate is pursuing IVE for allegedly not obtaining the required permits before they issued our licence.”
Its parent company claims to have “Australia’s largest distribution network”, which can “deliver to 17 million people in 7 million homes, every week”.
New child employment laws in Victoria came into effect in July, which saw the system move away from individual permits to a broader licensing system for employers. The legislation is designed to protect children under 15 from work that could harm their health or wellbeing.
Child employment law expert Gabrielle Golding, from the University of Adelaide, said Victoria had the most “stringent” regulation of child employment across Australia.
Golding said the new system allowed employers to apply for a licence that covered a group of children they had employed.
“They don’t have to apply for an individual permit for each child,” she said.
“By requiring employers to apply for a licence it forces an employer to turn their minds to what it means to engage a child to perform work and the gravity and extra responsibility that then brings.”
The maximum penalty for employing a child without a permit is $18,429.
