Minimum Age To Work In Queensland: Employer Obligations

If you’re hiring in Queensland, the rules for employing young people are a little different - and it’s important to get them right from day one.

From the minimum age a child can work to when and how long they can be rostered, Queensland has specific child employment laws (in addition to national Fair Work requirements). As an employer, you’re responsible for making sure these conditions are followed - even if the worker (or their parent) says they’re fine to do more.

In this guide, we’ll step through the minimum age to work in Queensland, hours limits, parent consent, prohibited roles, and practical steps to set up compliant contracts and rosters. By the end, you’ll know the key rules and how to embed them into your hiring process confidently.

What Is the Minimum Working Age in Queensland?

Generally, the minimum age to work in Queensland is 13.

There are a couple of important exceptions:

• Delivery work: Children aged 11-12 can do delivery work (for example, newspapers or advertising materials) under specific conditions.
• Entertainment industry: There’s no set minimum age for work in entertainment (for example, film, TV, theatre or modelling), but strict additional rules and permits/approvals apply.

“Work” is interpreted broadly - paid work, trials, unpaid work that looks like work, and practical job tasks around a family business can all be captured. If a task benefits your business and would ordinarily be done by a worker, err on the side of treating it as employment and ensure the child employment rules are met.

Can School-Aged Children Work? Hours, Curfews and Breaks

Queensland has extra protections for school-aged children (generally under 16 and required to attend school). These limits sit alongside Fair Work obligations and any Award that applies to your business.

Core Limits for School-Aged Children

• No work during school hours: You must not roster a child during their scheduled school hours.
• Curfew: School-aged children must not work between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.
• Daily and weekly caps:
  • On a school day: Up to 4 hours.
  • In a school week: Up to 12 hours total.
  • During school holidays: Up to 8 hours on a non-school day and up to 38 hours in a week.
• Rest between shifts: Ensure a substantial break between work periods (a long, continuous rest period overnight). In practice, plan your rosters so there is a clear, uninterrupted rest break between days.
• Workplace breaks still apply: Your Award and the Fair Work system still require proper rest and meal breaks during a shift. Review your Award’s break rules and general guidance on Fair Work breaks to make sure your roster is compliant.

These caps are non‑negotiable. You can’t “average out” the hours across weeks, and you can’t ask a parent to consent to longer shifts on a school day. Build your roster rules into your scheduling system so child workers can’t be accidentally scheduled outside the legal limits.

Delivery Work (Ages 11-12)

Delivery work has its own conditions. For example, routes must be safe, loads must be suitable for the child’s capacity, and the work should not occur late at night or early morning. If you engage children for deliveries, complete a risk assessment and document safe procedures (including reflective clothing, safe crossing procedures and weight limits for bags).

Plan Rosters Carefully

Use a standard approach to rostering that prioritises school obligations, curfew and support for rest breaks. A simple way to operationalise this is to configure your scheduling tool with “no-go” times and maximum daily caps for school-aged employees. It’s also wise to double-check your plan against the Award and general guidance on legal requirements for employee rostering.

How Do These Limits Interact With National Rules?

Queensland child employment restrictions apply in addition to national rules under the Fair Work Act and Awards. For example, maximum weekly hours under national law apply to adults, while additional Queensland child caps apply specifically to young workers. When in doubt, follow the rule that offers the most protection to the child. You can also review general guidance on maximum hours per week and daily maximums to round out your compliance picture.

Do You Need Parent Consent or Permits?

Yes - before employing a school-aged child in Queensland, you must obtain written consent from a parent or guardian. Keep this on file and refresh it if the role changes in a material way (for example, different duties, longer hours or a new location).

In some industries (notably entertainment), additional approvals apply. Plan ahead - you may need to notify or apply for permits depending on the type of performance, hours and location. If you’re unsure whether a planned activity falls into entertainment, treat it as if it does and seek advice before rostering.

Beyond consent, have a clear process for speaking with parents about rosters, breaks and transport arrangements. Save a primary and secondary contact number and confirm the best way to reach the parent in the event of a change or emergency.

What Jobs Are Off-Limits for Young Workers?

Children must not be employed in unsafe or inappropriate work. This includes roles that involve:

• Dangerous equipment or high-risk plant (for example, certain commercial kitchen machinery, construction equipment or forklifts).
• Hazardous environments (for example, confined spaces, unsupervised work at height or areas where hazardous chemicals are in use).
• Inappropriate or adult-only services (for example, adult entertainment or work that is not age-appropriate).

There are also restrictions around working in licensed premises. Where children can be present in a licensed venue for lawful purposes (for example, a family bistro area), extra supervision and duty design is critical. Always conduct and document a role-specific risk assessment.

The safest approach is to define a “child-safe duties list” for your business, paired with a “prohibited tasks” list your supervisors can easily check. Include specific equipment, processes and spaces that are off-limits to anyone under a set age or competency level.

Hiring Young People: Contracts, Pay and Safety

Once you understand the age and hours limits, embed them into your hiring process and day-to-day operations. Here’s how to do it in a practical, legally sound way.

Choose the Right Engagement and Put It in Writing

Most young workers start as casuals. Use a clear, tailored Employment Contract that sets out duties, the Award classification, pay rates (including junior rates if applicable), rostering rules, breaks and curfew, and a simple process for parental communication.

For part-time or full-time young workers, use the appropriate written contract and mirror the child employment limits in your scheduling terms. If you’re not sure which structure fits, speak with an employment lawyer early to avoid misclassification issues.

Pay and Award Coverage

Pay rates for young workers are usually set by the applicable Award (for example, Retail, Fast Food or Hospitality) and may include junior rates. Make sure you’re applying the correct classification, penalties and loadings for each shift type, and that your payroll system is set up to auto-apply age-based increments when a birthday changes the rate.

Build Safe Rostering and Breaks Into Policy

Publish a short, plain-English policy that covers curfew (no work 10:00 pm-6:00 am for school-aged workers), maximum shift lengths, school-day limits and contact protocols with parents. House it alongside your broader Workplace Policy suite and train supervisors to follow it.

Your policy should also commit to proper rest and meal breaks. If you need a refresher, review guidance on break entitlements and plan rosters so there’s a reasonable break between shifts for young workers.

Health, Safety and Supervision

Young people are new to the workplace and often unfamiliar with hazards, so supervision matters. Provide extra induction, assign accessible supervisors, and avoid lone working. Your risk management should cover:

• Safe tasks only: Limit duties to the “child-safe” list you’ve approved.
• Training and PPE: Brief, demonstrate, and confirm understanding for each task. Provide suitable PPE where relevant.
• Fatigue management: Roster conservatively around school commitments, travel time and sport commitments.
• Incident response: Clear steps for contacting supervisors and parents promptly if something goes wrong.

Record-Keeping

Keep accurate records for each young worker, including:

• Parent/guardian written consent and current contact details.
• Copies of contracts, Award classification and pay rates applied.
• Rosters and timesheets showing compliance with curfew and hour caps.
• Induction/training logs and your role-specific risk assessment.

Good records protect you in the event of a regulator inquiry and help your team manage compliance consistently as staff change.

Trials, Unpaid Work and Work Experience

Be careful with “trial shifts” and unpaid work. If a young person is performing productive work (for example, serving customers, handling stock or cleaning), they should generally be paid under the Award. Only very short skill demonstrations can be unpaid. When in doubt, pay for the time and keep it short and supervised.

Design Recruiting and Onboarding With Compliance in Mind

Avoid asking for availability that would breach school obligations or curfew in your job ad. During onboarding, collect school schedules, preferred days and key exam periods. Confirm parental contact details and get consent before the first shift. Then, lock your rostering system so it cannot create a non‑compliant schedule for a school-aged employee.

Key Takeaways

• The minimum age to work in Queensland is 13 (11-12 for specific delivery work), with separate rules and approvals for entertainment.
• School-aged children can’t work during school hours, can’t work between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, and are subject to strict daily and weekly hour caps.
• Written parental consent is required before employment, and you should keep clear records of rosters, timesheets, training and risk assessments.
• Some work is off-limits to children, including dangerous tasks, high-risk equipment and age-inappropriate environments - define safe duties and supervise closely.
• Put compliant terms into a written Employment Contract, build break and curfew rules into your policies, and configure your rostering system to prevent non‑compliant shifts.
• Fair Work and Award rules still apply alongside Queensland child employment laws - follow the rule that offers the most protection to the young worker.

If you’d like a consultation on hiring young workers in Queensland - from contracts to roster compliance and policies - you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no‑obligations chat.