Adults accused of child abuse crimes can still work alongside under-age employees in retail and hospitality settings under a gap in the ACT bail laws, a retail union has argued.
An ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry into a bill seeking to amend the Bail Act has heard children working in supermarkets, retail stores and other venues are slipping "through the cracks" of child protection measures.
However, senior ACT lawyers have warned a mandatory condition could have unintended detrimental consequences, including unfairly restricting young offenders, and courts already imposed strict bail conditions on individuals in most child abuse cases.
