Australian retailers want state governments to change their labour laws, which determine at what age children can start paid work.
While there’s no minimum age for part-time work in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland both put restrictions on those who aren't yet a teenager.
Chief of The Australian Retailers Association Paul Zahra told AAP that retailers should be able to tap into school-age workers.
"An ideal model would be one where we allow 13- to 15-year-olds to work, with sensible regulations in place around not working during school hours or at times that would impact a young person's education," he said.
It comes as Australia faces critical labour and skills shortages in the retail sector.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show there are currently 40,300 job vacancies.
“Agreeing to a national framework on young workers would help mobilise a willing and able cohort of people to help address the staffing shortfall,” Zahra told AAP.
The idea is proving controversial, with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles urging common sense.
“Thirteen is very young,” he told the Today show on Wednesday morning.
"We don't want to pre-empt what's coming out of the jobs and skills summit over the next couple of days, but that's certainly not a plan that the government has in mind.”
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