Purpose:

To establish a licensing system to regulate the provision of labour hire services.

Objectives:

• To protect workers from being exploited by providers of labour hire services and hosts.
• To improve the transparency and integrity of the labour hire industry.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of a licensing system for labour hire service providers.
• Prohibition on providing or advertising labour hire services without a licence.
• Prohibition on entering into arrangements for labour hire services with an unlicensed provider or for the purpose of avoidance.
• Requirements for licence applications, including declarations regarding fitness, legal compliance, and consent for information verification.
• Provisions for the grant, duration, renewal, variation, suspension, and cancellation of licences.
• Establishment of the Labour Hire Licensing Authority and the office of Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner with defined functions and powers.
• Appointment of inspectors and their powers for monitoring compliance and enforcement, including inspection, entry, search, and seizure.
• Imposition of civil penalties for contraventions of specified provisions.
• Requirements for maintaining a public Register of Licensed Labour Hire Providers.
• Provisions for the development of voluntary codes of practice for the labour hire industry.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Licence Application and Related Information (Sections 17, 19, 23, 24, 29):
  • Submission of Application: Must apply to the Authority for a licence to provide labour hire services. If 2 or more natural persons intend to jointly conduct the business, the application must be made jointly and comply with requirements for each applicant.
  • Applicant Details: Provide full name and address of the applicant; date of birth if a natural person.
  • Business Details: Provide business name, ABN, and business address for each business through which labour hire services will be provided. If a body corporate, provide ACN or ARBN.
  • Officer/Decision-Maker Details: If a body corporate, provide full name, address, and date of birth of each officer and their position. If a natural person, provide full name, address, date of birth, and role for each person making or participating in decisions affecting a substantial part of the labour hire business.
  • Estimated Turnover Information: Provide details of the estimated turnover of the business for the 4 quarters immediately preceding the application date, to determine if the business is a tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 business.
  • Nominated Officers: Include full name, position description, and contact details of the prescribed number of nominated officers, each being a natural person responsible for day-to-day business conduct and satisfying prescribed requirements.
  • Current Business Information (if applicable): If currently providing labour hire services, provide the number of workers supplied to hosts during the preceding 12 months and prescribed information about those workers. Specify industrial instruments determining terms and conditions, whether workers held temporary work visas (number and kinds), and industries in which services are provided/intended.
  • Planned Business Information (if not currently operating): If not currently providing labour hire services but intending to, provide the expected number of workers to be supplied in the first 12 months after licence comes into force, prescribed information about those workers. Specify expected industrial instruments, whether workers are expected to hold temporary work visas (number and kinds), and industries in which services are intended.
  • Declaration of Fit and Proper Person: Applicant (or officer for body corporate) must declare that each relevant person (applicant/holder, officers of body corporate, decision-makers for natural person, nominated officers) is a fit and proper person at the time of application, as defined by section 22. This includes declarations regarding criminal convictions, contraventions of workplace/labour hire/accommodation laws, previous licence cancellations/suspensions, insolvency, or disqualification from managing corporations within specified periods (10 or 5 years).
  • Declaration of Compliance with Legal Obligations:
    • If currently operating: Declare compliance with laws relating to taxation, superannuation, occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, labour hire industry laws, workplace laws, migration laws, and applicable minimum accommodation standards.
    • If not currently operating but intending to: Declare a plan is in place (and can be provided on request) to ensure compliance with the same laws and standards.
    • If procuring/providing accommodation/transport: Declare accommodation will comply with minimum accommodation standards, and transport will comply with applicable laws.
  • Declaration of Reasonable Inquiries: Declare that reasonable inquiries have been made about matters in the application and accompanying declarations.
  • Consent to Information Disclosure: Provide consent from each relevant person for the Authority to obtain information from third parties for verification.
  • Application Fee: Pay any prescribed application fee.
• Ongoing Annual Obligations (Sections 34, 35):
  • Annual Information Provision: Provide the Authority with the following information for each 12-month reporting period (or prescribed period):
    • Confirmation of registration with the Australian Taxation Office throughout the reporting period.
    • Confirmation of registration with WorkSafe Victoria throughout the reporting period.
    • Number of workers supplied to hosts and prescribed information about those workers.
    • Industrial instruments determining terms and conditions of employment/engagement of workers.
    • Whether workers held temporary work visas (number and kinds).
    • Industries in which labour hire services were provided.
    • Declaration of compliance with all laws referred to in section 23(1) throughout the reporting period.
    • Any other prescribed information, including relating to arrangements with workers, kind/location of work, worker accommodation (whether provided by holder or otherwise), provision of services/goods (transport/meals), OHS incidents notified/required to be notified, and workers’ compensation applications.
  • Reporting Timeframe: Information must be provided within 28 days of the start of each reporting period, in the prescribed manner.
  • Annual Licence Fee: Pay the prescribed annual licence fee on the anniversary of the licence coming into force/renewal, or on a prescribed date. Fee may be paid up to 6 weeks before due.
• Compliance with Licence Conditions (Section 36):
  • Adherence to Conditions: Comply with all conditions imposed on the licence, whether by the Act, regulations, or the Authority. Conditions may include ensuring compliance with legal obligations, providing information to the Authority as required, and allowing inspection of premises by the Authority or inspectors at reasonable intervals.
• Compliance with Notice to Comply (Section 37):
  • Remedial Action: Comply with a written “notice to comply” issued by the Authority, requiring steps to remedy non-compliance with the Act/regulations or remove grounds for suspension/cancellation, within the time specified in the notice.
• Notification of Changes (Sections 43, 44):
  • General Changes: Notify the Authority of any changes to the information provided in the licence application (Section 43) within 30 days of the change.
  • Prescribed Changes: Notify the Authority of any prescribed changes (of such significance that notification would constitute grounds for licence cancellation) within 30 days of the change.
• Availability of Nominated Officers (Section 45):
  • Ensuring Access: Take reasonable steps to ensure that nominated officers for the licence are available to the Authority during hours when labour hire services, or associated accommodation or transport, are being provided.
• Production of Licence (Section 46):
  • Display/Inspection: Produce the licence for inspection upon request by an inspector, a provider, a worker for a provider, a host, a police officer, or a prescribed person.
• Cooperation with Authority Inquiries (Section 47):
  • Information Provision: If required by the Authority, provide further information (including turnover details), confirm veracity of information via statutory declaration, provide consent for disclosure of information for checks, and provide access to premises where the labour hire business is or will be carried on.
• Document and Record Keeping/Production (Section 67):
  • Availability for Inspection: Keep all documents relating to the labour hire business available for inspection by an inspector in a readily inspectable form at all reasonable times at each business location.
  • Retention After Licence Ceases: If a licence ceases to be in force and is not renewed, retain all documents relating to the business for 6 years thereafter, making them available for inspection in a readily inspectable form and at a place where they can be readily inspected.
  • Compliance with Production Notice: Produce documents relating to the business within the time stated (not less than 14 days) in a written notice from an inspector.
• Compliance with Court Orders for Information (Section 70):
  • Supply Information/Answers: Comply with an order from the Magistrates’ Court (obtained by an inspector with Authority approval) to answer questions or supply information relating to the labour hire business, orally or in writing, at a specified time and place.
• Compliance with Embargo Notice (Section 79):
  • Restriction on Dealing with Things: If an inspector issues an embargo notice on a thing (because it cannot be readily seized), do not sell, lease, transfer, move, dispose of or otherwise deal with the thing or any part of it without the written consent of the inspector, unless for the purpose of protecting and preserving it.
• Prohibition on False or Misleading Information (Section 87):
  • Accuracy of Information: Do not give information to an inspector, the Authority, or the Commissioner that is believed to be false or misleading in a material particular.
  • Accuracy of Documents: Do not produce a document to an inspector, the Authority, or the Commissioner that is known to be false or misleading in a material particular without indicating the respect in which it is false or misleading and, if practicable, providing correct information.
• Prohibition on Hinderance or Obstruction (Section 88):
  • Non-obstruction of Inspectors: Do not intentionally hinder or obstruct an inspector in the performance of functions or exercise of powers, or induce/attempt to induce others to do so.
  • Non-concealment: Do not intentionally conceal from an inspector the location or existence of any person, plant, substance, or other thing.
  • Allowing Assistance: Do not intentionally prevent or attempt to prevent any other person from assisting an inspector.
  • Non-Assault/Intimidation: Do not assault, directly or indirectly intimidate or threaten, or attempt to intimidate or threaten, an inspector or a person assisting an inspector.
• Assistance During Entry/Search (Section 84):
  • Cooperation with Inspector: If an inspector is executing a search warrant, the occupier or an agent/employee of the occupier must, if required, give information (orally or in writing), produce documents, and give reasonable assistance to the inspector.

Metadata Keywords:

Labour hire, Licensing, Regulation, Worker protection, Compliance, Enforcement, Victoria, Workplace law, Occupational health and safety, Industrial relations, Forestry.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 1 July 2021 Version number: 006

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Forestry

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-06/18-25aa006%20authorised.pdf →