Health and Wellbeing

Exemption for Short-Term Employment

Guidelines to exempt students from school for employment in the entertainment industry

The Guidelines to exempt students from school for employment in the entertainment industry (the Guidelines) have been developed to assist all Victorian schools (including government, Catholic and independent) with the process to exempt children or young people from school for short-term employment in the entertainment industry during school hours.

For the guidelines, see Guidelines to exempt students from school for employment in the entertainment industry (PDF - 433Kb)

In accordance with the Education and Training Act 2006 and the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2007, children and young people who are aged 6–17 years of age must be enrolled in a registered school or registered for home schooling and are required to attend school. Under Ministerial Order No. 411 the principal of a registered school has the authority to grant an exemption from attendance at school by a student to allow for short-term employment in the entertainment industry. This authority is made on behalf of the Minister for Education.

The parent is required to complete the form Application for school exemption for work in the entertainment industry and the school principal is required to endorse the student’s absence from school by signing the form.

For the form, see Application for school exemption for work in the entertainment industry (PDF - 49Kb)

In considering the exemption application, the student’s parent or guardian must also provide the school principal with a (completed) copy of Parental Consent to Employment of Child form for the principal to consider. 

For the form, see Employing Children

Concurrently, the employer must provide the school principal with an Application Child Employment Permit for children under the age of 15 (from Workforce Victoria) for the principal to endorse.

For the form, see Employing Children 

The granting of permission for a student to be absent from school for short-term employment in the entertainment industry is dependent upon the principal’s view that the proposed absence will not adversely affect the child’s educational progress.

Where a principal assesses that the proposed employment will adversely affect the child’s education the application should not be endorsed.  A parent may appeal against the principal’s decision to the Regional Director (government and independent school sectors) or the Diocesan Director (Catholic schools).

 

More information

For more information about employment in the entertainment industry, see: