The minimum working age in Victoria is 11. This is how old you have to be to work.

You’re only allowed to do certain types of work until you turn 15:

  • If you’re 11 or 12, you can only do some delivery work.
  • If you’re 13 or 14, you can work in retail or a food business.

There’s no minimum age if you work for your family’s farm or business, but you can’t work on school days during school hours.

Some larger businesses like food franchises and supermarkets have their own rules about minimum ages. Visit the business’s website to find out how old you need to be to work for them.

If you have a question about a particular kind of job, or working for a particular employer, contact the Wage Inspectorate Victoria on 1800 287 287 or email them.

Types of work you can’t do if you're under 15

It's illegal for anyone under 15 to do any kind of work other than ‘light work’. This includes work you do for your family’s farm or business.

Light work is work that won't harm your:

  • health
  • safety
  • growth as a person
  • psychological wellbeing.

It also means work that doesn't stop you from:

  • going to school
  • continuing to learn.

There are also some things you can't do if you're under 15, like:

  • serving alcohol
  • operating heavy machinery
  • working in the gambling industry
  • selling things door-to-door
  • working on a fishing boat at sea
  • working on a building or construction site.

Types of work you can do at different ages

Under-15s can only do certain kinds of work.

These rules are different if you:

  • work for your family's business or farm
  • work in the entertainment industry.

If you're 11 or 12

In Victoria, you can only do some delivery work when you’re 11 or 12.

Delivery work includes:

  • delivering newspapers
  • delivering pamphlets or advertising material.

It is important to note, if you’re 11 or 12 you cannot deliver pharmaceutical products.

Unless you're working for your family:

If you're 13 or 14

If you're 13 or 14, you can do any kind of work you could do at 11 or 12. You can also do jobs like:

  • delivering pharmaceutical products
  • working in retail (like a department store or supermarket)
  • working in hospitality (like a fast food place or a cafe).

However, at this age you still can't:

  • do work that isn't light work
  • serve alcohol
  • operate heavy machinery
  • work in the gambling industry
  • sell things door-to-door
  • work on a fishing boat at sea
  • work on a building or construction site.

Unless you're working for your family:

If you're 15 or older

Once you turn 15, you're legally able to work in Victoria at any kind of job as long as:

  • you're qualified to do it
  • it doesn't break laws relating to young people (for example, laws relating to driving a vehicle or serving alcohol).

If you're 15 or older, your employer no longer needs a child employment license to be able to employ you.

For more information about employment rights in general, read our employment rights section.

Hours you can work

The general rules around hours of work for employees under 15 are:

  • you can't work on school days during school hours
  • during school term, you can only work for a maximum of three hours a day and 12 hours a week
  • during school holidays, you can work for a maximum of six hours a day and 30 hours a week
  • you can only work between 6 am and 9 pm
  • you must get a 30-minute rest break after every three hours you work (the rest break can be paid or unpaid)
  • you must get a break of at least 12 hours between finishing one shift of work and starting the next.

If you work for your family, there are no restrictions on the number of hours you can work, but you can’t work on school days during school hours.

To find out more about working hours, contact the Wage Inspectorate Victoria on 1800 287 287 or email them.

Wages or pay for under-15s

How much you get paid will depend on the sort of contract you're employed under. To find out how much you should be getting paid, visit our what is the minimum wage? page or contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for information on pay rates and working conditions.

For information and advice about contracts, visit our employment contracts page.

Working for your family

There's no minimum age for working in your family business or on your family farm. There are also no restrictions about hours of work or rest breaks. There are some other restrictions, though:

  • you have to be supervised by your parent or guardian at all times
  • you can't work on school days during school hours
  • you can only do light work.

To find out more about working for family businesses or farms, contact the Wage Inspectorate Victoria on 1800 287 287 or email them.

Working in the entertainment industry

The entertainment industry includes work like:

  • singing, dancing, acting
  • playing a musical instrument
  • appearing in a radio, film, television or internet program that's not a news item
  • modelling
  • appearing in a promotional event or advertising
  • working in a circus.

If you work in any of these areas, Victorian law sets out the hours of work, education, supervision, safety and travel arrangements that apply to you.

You can learn more about employing children in the entertainment and advertising industry. This page is aimed at businesses, but it still has useful information on it.

You can also ask questions directly by contacting the Wage Inspectorate Victoria on 1800 287 287 or email them.

Where to get help

If you're under 15 and you have any questions, or if you have a problem at work you want to discuss, you can get in touch with: