When Can I Start Work?

A big part of growing up is starting work. It can be great to have some extra money for yourself, feel more independent, as well as learning the skills you will need in the workforce for the rest of your life.

But before you get too keen, there are some things you need to know before you rush out and start applying.

In New South Wales there are no minimum age restrictions to start work in New South Wales. However, if you are under 15 there may be some restrictions on the type of work you can do and how many hours you can work.

What other restrictions are there?

There are also restrictions other than age to consider when starting work. These include how many hours per day or week you are allowed to work, when you are allowed to work, and if you are allowed to leave school to work.

In New South Wales:

You are not allowed to work during school hours.
You can’t work more than one shift a day, and for more than 5 days in a row.
You can’t work later than 9.00pm if you have school the next day.
You must not work and attend school for more than 50 hours a week combined.

You will need to stay in school until you finish Year 10. After this you can either stay in school, work full-time, or undertake a combination of education and training.

Where can I find more information?

Find out more about starting work on the Fair Work Ombudsmen's website here.

Keen to learn more about Careers? Check out the Careers page on Study Work Grow

for info about your dream career area, jobs available now, and more.

Apprenticeship and Traineeship Information for Parents

SkillsOne acknowledges that there is still a strong need for information to help parents better understand vocational pathways, including apprenticeships/traineeships and school-based apprenticeships/traineeships. Giving parents the knowledge they need to help their children make informed career choices.

SkillsOne, supported by the NSW Department of Education has created a free video that parents can access to learn about the following;

Apprenticeships and Traineeships
TAFE/ Private Training Providers
Industry trends
COVID-19 impacts on industry
Funding options available (Smart and Skilled)
Vocational Education and Training (VET) Options: School -delivered VET, SBATs and EVET
Where to find information
Resources and support services

To support this video, SkillsOne will be hosting a live streamed Question and Answer panel discussion on the SkillsOne Facebook page on August 26 2020. Industry and education professionals will be available to answer parents’ pre-submitted questions.

How Parents Can Access this Content:

Content will only be available for a four week period from August 10 to September 4 2020. Content cannot be downloaded or saved, so must be watched during this time.
To participate, parents need to pre-register their interest to receive viewing information and updates at www.skillsone.com.au
Content will be free for parents
Live Q&A Panel discussion on August 26 (evening) on SkillsOne Facebook

Parents can pre-submit any questions to do with careers / industry to info@skillsone.com.au.

The ABC Heywire Competition

Open to people aged 16-22, living in regional or rural Australia. Heywire encourages young people to tell stories about their life outside the major cities in text, photo, video or audio format.

Each year, every ABC regional station selects a winning Heywire Competition entry to represent their part of Australia. The young winners work with ABC staff to produce their story to be featured on ABC Radio and abc.net.au.

Competition winners also score an all-expenses-paid trip to the Heywire Summit, designed to ensure their voices are heard in Canberra and around the nation.

The competition is open until Wednesday 16 September. Find out more and enter here.

Mr Richard O'Connell | Transition and Pathways Specialist

"Mater Dei Matters"

Issue 12 · 13 Aug 2020

In this issue