Here at Bettina Management, we provide professional talent management for children between the ages of newborn to 16 years.

Our talent shines in a variety of exciting opportunities from catalogues, magazines and billboards to fashion parades, musical theatre and productions to TV commercials, TV series, film, promotions, launches, exhibitions and events for thousands of Australian and international fashion and lifestyle brands every year.

Check out our Instagram page for examples of the work our talent has done, and head to our Facebook page for daily updates on castings and auditions.

Successful agents, like us, have an impressive client list that we have built up over decades in the industry. Our investment in sophisticated digital infrastructure and a permanent team of professionals with relevant experience in the entertainment industry, enables us to retain and attract new clients, both locally and abroad.

Most clients will also only source their talent through a talent agent to ensure compliance with the numerous regulations and child employment laws. So, as your agent, Bettina Management acts as your child’s ‘gatekeeper’ to the industry. We ensure that your child is safe on set and at castings, by only working with vetted clients. We also provide support and assistance to talent, especially when they are new to the industry.

As the leader in our industry, we work with more clients than any other agency, so your child will be exposed to more opportunities through our agency. Check out our Instagram page for examples of the work our talent has done.

Parents who are considering getting their kid(s) involved in the exciting world of entertainment can call or email us to book an industry information session or can complete our ONLINE APPLICATION FORM.

We do not have the capacity to represent everyone who applies. While this may not be fair, this is the reality of the industry. Our expertise in selecting an appropriate number of talent across all categories, ensures clients return to our agency as they know we have a suitable selection for a variety of requests.

We appreciate the opportunity to meet new faces, so even if you are unsure and just want to find out more, feel free to submit an online application or call us to book an interview. We love the industry and never tire of talking about it.

Unfortunately, no agent can provide a guarantee that their talent will get work during the time of their representation – Be wary of any agency that claims otherwise!

Bettina Management represents children from Newborn – 16 years of age.

If you have a child on our books, we will also represent your family during the child’s term of representation. We offer a FREE family profile, which allows us to put your whole family forward for any suitable briefs we receive from our clients.

Once you are over the age of 16, unfortunately, children’s agencies can no longer represent you. This means that you will now be classified as an adult within the Industry and you will need to start the process of trying to get accepted by an adult agency.

Yes, we offer a service where we bundle all the associated costs and requirements for entry into the industry.  We subsidise some costs to make it more affordable and also offer payment plan options. 

We explain the associated costs during the application process.

Our agency represents talent in VIC, NSW, WA and QLD. In general, our talent must within two hours from the CBD of their respective state (either Brisbane or Gold Coast for QLD talent). This is not a ‘Bettina’ requirement, but is more to do with the child employment legislation and strict regulations on travel times for children working on jobs. Any time travelled over 90 mins (each way) is deducted from the time that a child can work on set. This then restricts our clients booking kids that live further away for certain shoots. We need all of our talent to be available to work their full maximum allowed working hours (based on age), without the limitations caused by travel times. We do allow 30 mins grace either side, as we can sometimes work around that, but unfortunately we are unable to accommodate anyone who lives further out than that. We are bound by Child Employment on this.

*This rules applies to everyone, whether your child is an Australian Resident/Citizen or they are on a visa.

If your child is on a visa, we can still accept them, however, there is no tax-free threshold and we will withhold tax at the non-resident rate which is 32.5%.

Here at Bettina, we value inclusivity and equality, We accept children of all backgrounds provided they are suitable for the industry and if there is availability in their category. We have an incredible portfolio of clients who book our talent for lots of amazing projects. While we understand that everyone’s identity is unique and individual, our clients works in a certain way. This means we cannot change the way clients search for or cast talent for jobs, so how we pitch kids to them needs to follow the same procedures.

As a talent agency, we cannot guarantee work for anyone and have no control over which of our talent are cast for jobs. We act as the middleman between clients and talent. We work by receiving briefs from our clients and submitting talent accordingly. Unless a client asks us to suggest non-binary talent, we cannot submit them for consideration. Clients do generally request either males or females and may assign further age and physical requirements. We do on occasion receive requests for non-binary talent but due to the nature of the casting process and the advertising market, there isn’t much work available for children in this particular category and unfortunately, this is not in the agency’s hands.

We can submit your child for male or female requests if you are happy for us to do so (provided they fit the brief). We cannot submit them for both. Otherwise, we can certainly list them to only be submitted for non-binary requests but the lack of demand from our clients does mean less job opportunities. Ultimately, we want parents and talent to feel comfortable and confident in the roles they are submitted for whilst also catering to the needs of our clients. If in the future children’s entertainment becomes a more gender diverse industry, we will incorporate the appropriate tools and procedures to reflect these changes.

Our clients are the “employers” of our talent on set and must have suitable public liability insurance for everyone who is on site at their shoot. Bettina Management also have our own public liability insurance, just to have that added security.

If a child is ever stressed, upset or not feeling safe (or the parent believes they are) the parent is entitled to say so on set. The child would not be forced to continue, if that was the case. A parent must be present and supervise their child at all times, or sign a form to authorise someone else to supervise their child if they are not able to attend the shoot themselves.

Employers must go through a strict application process before they can employ any child for work. We do our own vetting of clients and get as much information from them as we can, before we send any child out to work. Clients are required to provide extensive detail on their shoot and exactly what the children would be required to do, wear etc. They also need to provide a Risk Assessment & Child Safe Code of Conduct, which must be signed by every adult on set, where children are present. Additionally, we hold Labour Hire Licences which means we are regularly audited.

Child employment regulations are different for each state. Below you can find some general information on the regulations in NSW and Victoria.

Parents in all states will receive this information when their child is booked for a particular job, otherwise you can also find information relevant to your state online.

NSW

General information here (click the drop down arrows under each timeline): https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/organisations/employing-children-acting-and-modelling/steps-employing-children

Employers are required to provide:

• • Story / mood boards, scripts etc – What they say, see, hear and do
  • The role requirements – How they say, see hear and do
  • The role risks including location risks, skilled action and stunts, animals, SFX, pyrotechnics, long days, night shoots, weapons etc
  • Adult oriented or inappropriate content or action and the plans to separate it from the children’s roles
  • Risk management strategies
  • Develop a Child Safe Code of Conduct. Every adult present must have a copy before a child starts work (https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/employing-children-acting-and-modelling/steps-employing-children/code-conduct)
  • Develop an incident reporting register and incident report form, in case something were to happen (they can get examples & templates here: https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/organisations/employing-children-acting-and-modelling/forms-employing-children)
  • Check they have appropriate supervision for each child (parent is attending & staying with the child)
  • 1-2 days before their shoot they need to email to the Children’s Guardian a copy of their Call Sheet + any finalised safety reports and risk assessments.

VIC

You’ll find most information here: https://business.vic.gov.au/business-information/staff-and-hr/employing-children/child-employment-an-overview

Employers are required to apply for a permit for each child specifically & include full details on the location, their set, costumes, any props, any potential risks & exactly what the kids will be required to do at the shoot. This is provided to the parents on the Parental Consent Form to sign off on it and also assessed by the Child Employment Officers at Wage Inspectorate Victoria before the permit is approved.

Also rules around legal working hours for kids of different ages & travel times for all minors, can be found here if useful.

• • NSW: https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/organisations/employing-children-acting-and-modelling/requirements-different-aged-children
  • VIC: https://business.vic.gov.au/business-information/staff-and-hr/employing-children/child-employment-laws-and-requirements

Our agency values each child for their uniqueness and we love meeting new faces, no matter their abilities. Unfortunately, due to the lack of demand from clients and the advertising market, there isn’t much work available for children in this particular category.

We keep limited portfolios of talent in this category on file without any cost to you, in case a brief does come up. Please send us your child’s name, DOB, clothing size, your best contact details and a few photos, to [email protected]. Though we cannot control the market demand, if in the future the market demands it, we will bring more children with disabilities onto our books. We are noticing that this type of work is slowly picking up and we do get these specific requests more than we used to, and have recently had several of our talent with disabilities appear in campaigns. So do reach out and get listed with our talent management team – you never know!

The Bettina Management head office is located in Melbourne. We also have offices located in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth.

Yes, there are restrictions around how far children can travel to and from work, depending on their age. Clients will struggle to obtain child employment and working with children permits for kids who reside outside a 2 hour radius from a CBD, because travel to and from the shoot location is included in a child’s work hours.

 Melbourne and Sydney are home to some of the busiest Australian media hubs. So, in these capital cities we do have larger talent pools to accommodate the demand for talent.

There are less commercial opportunities in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth. Hence, we have a smaller talent pool in these states to ensure the demand to supply ratio is met accordingly.

Yes, all reputable agents will take the standard commission as regulated by the relevant state industry.

Commission in Victoria and Queensland is 20% for call-backs, wardrobe fittings and shoots. In New South Wales and Western Australia commission is 10% on call-backs, wardrobe fitting and shoots.

However, in Victoria if you are working on a TV series, a 15% commission will be taken, with no commission on any travel or petrol re-imbursements.

The majority of jobs will take place in the inner city and CBD areas of your capital city (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast or Perth). If you live further out from these areas, you will be expected to travel into the city areas for jobs. Before joining an agency, it is crucial to understand the commitment and flexibility needed for with short notice willing to travel to castings, auditions and jobs, usually with only a short notice period.

The industry is unpredictable, and you might even pick up a job in the outer suburbs, interstate or even internationally!

Auditions and castings are usually flexible and mostly they take place after school hours. However, most shoots and filming take place during regular school and business hours.

Child employment legislation in Victoria and NSW requires schools to give permission to children under 15  to work during school hours. This does not apply to auditions and castings that take place during school hours. 

As a talent agent, we act as the middleman between talent (little models and actors) and clients (brands who want kids in their campaigns), whereas casting agents act as the middleman between the creative teams of brands and talent agencies. So casting agents are hired by the creative teams (like photographers and producers) to execute their briefs. 

Simply put, – a TALENT agent handles their talent, while a CASTING agent handles castings and auditions.  Typically when our talent attends a casting or audition they will do so at a casting agent, who then assists the client (brand) to finalise talent selections. A talent agent cannot be a casting agent, and a casting agent cannot be a talent agent because it represents a conflict of interest.