Family members may visit your business and staff may ask if it’s possible for their children to come into work during school holidays or on work experience. You and your staff need to ensure that any visiting children will be safe. Consider restricting them to a safe area where there are no hazards. Any hazards should be clearly explained to your staff and the children.
Regulations restrict children under 15 from visiting or working in:
Within these workplaces, the restriction does not apply to offices, to places used only for displaying or selling goods, or to any part where the public generally has access. Nor does the restriction apply when children are under the direct supervision of an adult, or part of a guided tour of the workplace. However, "direct supervision" is a high standard and requires constant vigilance on the part of the supervising adult.
Many schools and training facilities value an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience and may approach you to have a student work with you. In such cases you must treat the students as if they were employees and reduce the risk of them being harmed as you would with your normal employees. That includes providing any necessary personal protective equipment such as hard hats or ear muffs and actively managing the work experience so to avoid any exposure to significant hazards.
The educational institution may provide some protective gear or meet all or part of the cost. The protective gear need not be new but it has to be in acceptable condition. You could have a pool of items such as hard hats, safety goggles, hearing protectors, and steel-capped boots that the students or visitors can use.
Disposable items such as ear plugs and dust masks must not be reused. The protective gear supplied must be appropriate to the hazard and must fit correctly. Students must also be instructed in its correct use. If you provide used protective gear then make sure it’s appropriately sanitised after use so that it doesn’t become a health hazard itself.