According to local talent agents, child models in Australia can earn up to $9000 if their face is plastered on a billboard, or next to a cash register.

''The most one of ours has received for one campaign was $20,000 for a national TV campaign,'' Bettina Management's national manager Ronel Fourie said.

And although TV is where the big money is, catalogues are the place to cut your teeth.

Before Hollywood called, Nicole Kidman graced the pages of seasonal fashion catalogues. And the allure of the glossy pamphlet is still just as bankable for the stars of tomorrow.

For Ms Fourie, who counts Big W and David Jones as clients, strict regulations are mandatory for child models, including for the five-month-old babies that comprise her youngest ''talent''.

''As much as we represent our talent, they also represent us and we therefore do not accept children that do not meet our requirements,'' she said of the ''mostly ungoverned'' industry. ''We do not select children just based on their looks, but also on their personality, temperament and social skills. We meet with parents and kids to get an idea of how they interact and follow basic instructions.''

Kate Howard, a casting producer and stylist for Target, said each model booked for a children's wear shoot must submit permits from a licensed entertainment agency and every crew member on set must possess Working With Children documentation.

''Most of the kids we work with are only on set for an hour at a time. It's a very high-energy set, our job is to get lots of laughs out of them. We have bubbles, music, fruit and muesli bars,'' she said.

The international child modelling industry has been under scrutiny recently. Last month, the US Model Alliance, led by model Coco Rocha, was successful in its bid to get legislation passed through New York's state senate to extend child labour laws to cover under-age models. The law now affords models under the age of 18 the same protection and rights as child performers. Employers in New York are now required to follow similar protocols already installed in Australia's fashion industry, including ensuring a parent or guardian is present at every job a young model is booked for.

In April, British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman signed a 10-point code protecting models at work. The code, created by British trade union Equity, prohibits models under the age of 16 from depicting adult models in fashion shoots and ensures they work no longer than 10 hours a day.