A Coles supermarket in Western Australia has been accused of refusing entry to minors and demanding identification.

Thirteen-year-old Amos Lippitt and his cousin were entering Coles Kununurra earlier this month when they were stopped by security.

"Me and my cousin were going to buy some stuff for dinner and mum sent us in," Amos said.

"The security guard pulled us up and said that 'you've got to be over 18 to come in'.

"It was a little bit upsetting and embarrassing."

Amos's mother, Trisha Birch, said she is planning to make a complaint to the Equal Opportunity Commission.

"It's frustrating because my kids don't do anything wrong, and it's frustrating that they're being targeted for things other people are doing wrong," Ms Birch said.

"Before I walked into the building I was told by another local that the security guard was stopping other kids from going into the store and that's why they were stopped.

"I also saw other kids refused entry."

Ms Birch and other community members have told the ABC they have seen supermarket security guards ask young people to produce identification.

"There are 17-year-olds who are young adults and independent."

"People without ID who are over 18, how are they going to get into the store?" Ms Birch said.

Coles in Kununurra is facing allegations of age discrimination. ( Tim Wimborne: Reuters )

In a statement Coles clarified that there are no restrictions on who enters the store outside of school hours.

Across the Kimberley, businesses restrict school-age children during school hours to promote attendance, but this initiative is not enforced outside school hours.

Kununurra, with its population of 5,000 people, has only two supermarkets, with other shopping facilities a nine-hour drive away.

Spike in juvenile crime

Business owners in Kununurra say they are grappling against antisocial behaviour.

The only other supermarket in Kununurra, an IGA, restricts the entry of unaccompanied minors.

"After six o'clock we do not allow kids in without an adult … If they say 'mum and dad are in the car', then we will let them," IGA manager Chris Burke said.

"We certainly do not check people's IDs."

Mr Burke said unaccompanied children in his store can be unruly and sometimes destroy property.

"It's basically for the kids who have been roaming around the street and there are up to five of them," he said.

"That's when our issue comes in — if we have time we'll talk and ask what they want and we'll let them come in and purchase an item.

"They are not welcome to browse."

Local police have said juvenile offences — usually involving vandalism, break-ins and theft — are at an historical high.

"The number of crimes committed is unacceptably high," Kimberley Police Superintendent Allan Adams told the ABC last month.

"We have gone back over the statistics and there's been a steady increase over the last six years, with a 30–40 per cent [increase] in burglary and stealing motor vehicles."

Is refusing entry to minors discrimination?

Manager of Commission Services at the Equal Opportunity Commission in WA Diana Mactiernan said businesses must comply with the Anti-Discrimination Act.

"Business should be open to people generally, irrespective of the person's age, race and sex," she said.

"We have what we call exceptions, so a business can, for reasons of occupational health and safety, stop people of a particular age from entering the premises — but they would need to justify that position."

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George Newhouse from the National Justice Project said age discrimination can lead to other indirect forms of discrimination.

"In my view, the requirement to present ID does indirectly discriminate against Aboriginal people because in many situations they are less likely to be able to produce ID," he said.

"So not only does this process have a discriminatory affect on age, but it also filters out Aboriginal people.

"I'm not sure whether that's by design or whether it's accidental, but in any event it does seem to me Indigenous people have a separate claim."