Industrial relations regulation and compliance (IRRC) administers the Child Employment Act 2006 (CE Act) and the Child Employment Regulation 2016 (CE Regulation). The purpose of the CE Act and the CE Regulation is to safeguard all children (those under 18 years of age) working in Queensland. The legislation has been in place since 1 July 2006.
The CE Act aims to safeguard children from being required to perform work that may be harmful to their health or safety, physical, mental, moral or social welfare.
When performing functions under the CE Act, an inspector has all the powers provided under the Industrial Relations Act 2016 and the CE Act.
The legislation regulates the number of days and hours a school-aged child is permitted to work and contains special provisions for work in the entertainment industry including film, TV, stage productions and advertising commercials.
A special circumstances certificate may authorise work to be done that would not ordinarily be allowed under the legislation, for example increasing the maximum number of hours per day. Applications may be made by a child, a parent or an employer.
A recent example was a request for children in the entertainment industry to be able to work outside the prescribed hours and work up to 12am in a television commercial which was being filmed at a theme park and could not commence until the park had closed to the public.
In the September 2025 quarter, IRRC assessed 63 applications for special circumstance certificates. 29 certificates were approved with the majority relating to working in the entertainment industry including live entertainment, films, television series and advertisements being filmed in the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas. These certificates covered the employment of 183 children.
Information regarding child employment in Queensland is available via www.business.qld.gov.au or contact the Office of Industrial Relations on (07) 3406 9999.
