The report reviews one proposed major treaty action: the International Labour Organization Convention No. 138: Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (the Convention).
The purpose of the Convention is to effectively abolish child labour through the establishment of national policies for the elimination of child labour. The intent of the Convention is that the right of children to attend school will be protected; that types of economic activity that may be undertaken by children will be regulated; and that children’s health, safety and morals will be protected.
The Convention contains, subject to some exceptions, three key obligations:
a requirement to specify the age of completion of compulsory schooling, and in any case not less than 15 years, as the minimum age for admission to employment or work
a requirement to establish 18 years as the minimum age for hazardous work (employment or work that is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons), or 16 under certain circumstances
where permitted by national laws, a requirement to specify the conditions for children no younger than 13 years to undertake light work.
Although there is no Commonwealth legislation governing the minimum age for employment or work in Australia, and while practices across jurisdictions differ, state and territory legislation governing school attendance in effect sets 15 years as the minimum age for employment or work.
While Australian law does not specifically preclude a person under the age of 16 from engaging in hazardous work, the Committee heard that a combination of workplace health and safety laws, compulsory schooling requirements, and sector-specific requirements effectively limit its occurrence in most fundamental respects.
Like other International Labour Organization conventions, the Convention provides flexibility mechanisms to accommodate the differing legal systems of Members. Australia plans to rely on one such mechanism, article 4, to exclude from the application of the Convention limited categories of work where children under 13 years may undertake light work, either because it is permitted by existing state and territory legislation, or because the type of work occurs in practice and the available evidence suggests such work is undertaken in beneficial circumstances without impact on the health and wellbeing of children.
Australia would be the 176th country to ratify the Convention, and ratification would provide Australia with the credibility to promote strong measures to help address and eliminate child labour in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Committee supports the Convention and recommends binding treaty action be taken.
The report also contains the Committee’s examination of seven minor treaty actions:
MSC.486(103): 2021 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978
MSC.456(101): 2019 amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974
MSC.474(102): 2020 amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974
MSC.482(103): 2021 amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974
MSC.491(104): 2021 amendments to the Protocol of 1988 relating to the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966
amendment to Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
2022 amendment to Annex A of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.