Muffin Break served with 360 criminal charges over alleged child employment breaches

The state’s child employment watchdog, Wage Inspectorate Victoria, alleges that between March and October 2022, Rianshi Pty Ltd, trading as Muffin Break (Southland), contravened the Child Employment Act 2003 by:

• employing 3 children under the age of 15 without a permit on 111 occasions
• failing to ensure the children are supervised by someone with a Working with Children Clearance
• failing to provide a rest break of at least 30 minutes after every 3 hours of work
• employing children for longer than 3 hours per day during a school term
• employing children for longer than 6 hours per day during school holidays.

The maximum penalty for each of the above offences is 100 penalty units ($18,174 for offences in the 2021-22 financial year and $18,429 for offences in the 2022-23 financial year).

The matter has been listed for mention in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 15 June 2023.

The Wage Inspectorate will make no further comment while the matter is before the court.

Background

Victoria’s child employment laws require employers of children under 15 to obtain a permit from the Wage Inspectorate before any work takes place. This enables the Wage Inspectorate to check that matters like safety, hours of work, rest breaks and supervision are properly considered before employment starts.

Workers under 15 must be supervised by someone who holds a valid employee Victorian Working with Children Clearance.

Child employment laws restrict when businesses can employ children and how long they can work:

• during a school term, children can be employed for a maximum of 3 hours a day and 12 hours per week
• during school holidays, children can be employed up to 6 hours a day and 30 hours a week.

Children must receive a 30-minute rest break after every 3 hours of work.

The Muffin Break matter is the eighth child employment prosecution the Wage Inspectorate has commenced in the last 18 months. A prosecution is the Wage Inspectorate’s most serious compliance tool and decisions to take legal action are made in line with its Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

More information about Victoria’s child employment laws is available on the Wage Inspectorate’s website or by calling 1800 287 287.