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1
Child Employment Bill 2005
Child Employment Bill 2005
Explanatory Notes
Amendments to be moved during
Consideration in Detail by the Honourable Tom
Barton MP, Minister for Employment, Training
and Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport
Title of the Bill
Child Employment Bill 2005
Objective of the Amendments
The objective is to make amendments to correct errors and to ensure that
the provisions align with the policy intent of the Bill.
Achievement of the Objective
Commencement date for the Bill
The amendment provides for a specific start date for the majority of the Bill
(i.e. 1 July 2006) rather than commencing on a date to be later proclaimed.
It is considered that this will give more certainty for members of the
community to be affected by the Bill while still allowing an interim period
to finalise administrative issues relating to the Bill's operation and to
complete drafting of a proposed Regulation to start at the same time as the
Bill.
Restrictions on work performed by children - Appropriate adult
supervision
The amendment omits an example of appropriate adult supervision. The
example is redundant in the Bill given that there is a power to prescribe
what is appropriate adult supervision in a regulation. The proposed
Regulation will include a provision specifying what appropriate adult
supervision includes for school-aged or young children.
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Child Employment Bill 2005
The amendment also clarifies that an employer does not commit an offence
if they supervise a child in accordance with a regulation prescribing
supervision by reference to a child or to work. Currently in the Bill the
supervision may be prescribed only by reference to particular work and this
has been considered to not be wide enough to encompass supervision by
reference to a particular group of children (e.g. school-aged or young
children).
Restrictions on work performed by children - Bill to override
industrial instruments
The amendment clarifies that the provisions of the Bill prescribing
permissible work, ways work may be done or when work may be done will
not be overridden by the provisions of federal awards, federal agreements
or industrial instruments (i.e. state awards or agreements). In clause 9(5)
employers of children do not commit an offence if the child works as
permitted or authorised under an `Act'. In this context and by virtue of the
Acts Interpretation Act 1954, the term `Act' would include instruments
such as federal awards, federal agreements or industrial instruments. The
amendment is therefore necessary to bring the provision in line with the
policy intent that provisions governing work in the Bill override provisions
permitting work contained in federal awards, federal agreements or
industrial instruments.
Alternative Ways of Achieving Policy
There are no alternative ways of achieving the policy objectives. The
amendments are in accordance with the policy intent of the Bill.
Estimated Cost for Government Implementation
Nil.
Consistency with Fundamental Legislative Principles
The amendments have been drafted to comply with fundamental legislative
principles.
Consultation
The Department of the Premier and Cabinet and the Office of the
Queensland Parliamentary Counsel have been consulted in drafting the
amendments.
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Child Employment Bill 2005
Notes on Provisions
Clause 1 amends clause 2 `Commencement' of the Bill by providing that
the Bill, other than part 7, will commence on 1 July 2006. Part 7
`Amendment of Industrial Relations Act 1999' will commence on date of
assent.
Clause 2 amends clause 9 `Restrictions on work performed by children' to
omit an example of appropriate adult supervision from subclause 4. The
example is redundant given that the Bill provides for such matters to be
prescribed in a regulation. The issue of appropriate adult supervision will
be dealt with in a proposed Regulation to commence at the same time as
the Bill.
Clause 3 amends clause 9 `Restrictions on work performed by children' at
subclause 6 to provide that offences are not committed where a child
worker is supervised in accordance with a regulation that prescribes
supervision by reference either to a prescribed child or prescribed work.
Clause 4 amends clause 9 `Restrictions on work performed by children' by
inserting a new subclause 7 that limits the definition of the term `Act'
where it is used in subclause 5. The amendment removes federal awards,
federal agreements and industrial instruments from the definition (as
prescribed by the Acts Interpretation Act 1954) so that it would be an
offence to require or authorise a child to work in accordance with those
instruments if they conflict with provisions of the Bill.
© State of Queensland 2006