Push for working with children police check in fast food sector

Shocking sexual harassment and abuse of teenagers working in fast food, hospitality and retail has sparked calls for adults to undergo police checks. Take our poll.

Exclusive: Shocking sexual harassment and abuse of young teens working in fast food, hospitality and retail has prompted calls for adults in these sectors to undergo a safety police check.

With more than half a million Australians aged 14 to 17 working in shops, cafes and restaurants around the country, union officials will on Tuesday meet with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in Canberra and urge him to put the issue on the agenda when he next meets with state and territory counterparts.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said if it’s a “requirement for the lollipop man at a school zebra crossing or the coach of children’s footy or netball teams” to have a working with children check “so it should be for adults working in fast food, retail and hospitality“.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer says working with children checks would protect young employees in retail and hospitality. Picture: AAP

“Employers gain massive financial advantage from employing children at far lower rates of pay than adults,” he said.

“Ensuring they have working with children checks for their adult employees is a reasonable requirement.”

Mr Dwyer praised recent steps by the South Australian government for “plugging this glaring loophole in child safety laws”.

“The other states and territories should not hesitate to follow suit,” he said.

A report from the McKell Institute commissioned by the SDA found there were “many situations” where children work with adult supervisors in retail and hospitality.

Union officials say workplaces with high concentrations of young people, like supermarkets, should require police checks. Picture: AAP

“A 16-year old for example, may be required to stack shelves in a supermarket with only adult colleagues present,” the report said.

The SDA has compiled a policy brief that details shocking cases of abuse, arguing that in at least some cases a working with children police check could have alerted employers to the risks posed to younger employees.

In one example, a 16-year-old female fast food worker in Perth was sexually assaulted by her 28-year-old male manager after she had sought assistance buying alcohol.

While on bail the man allegedly twice indecently dealt with, and smoked cannabis with, another fast food worker, a 15-year-old girl.

There are concerns for teenagers working with adults in the hospitality and retail sector. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Matray

In Melbourne a 28-year-old assistant manager at a fast food chain was sentenced to a minimum 22 months’ jail for sexual assault of a 16-year-old colleagues.

Also in Victoria, a 23-year-old fast food manager was sentenced after he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl several times in 2021, “including in a toilet of the restaurant”.

In South Australia, a fast food manager was found during an international crackdown called Operation Molto and was charged with possessing child abuse material.

But he continued to work with underage employees because his employers were unaware of the charges.

He then went on to work at a large supermarket, and was again arrested for similar offences

While on the NSW south coast, a 25-year-old McDonalds worker filmed himself raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl in a hotel. He was later charged with 16 offences.

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Originally published as Push for working with children police check in fast food sector