Purpose:

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the licensing and regulation of providers of labour hire services, and for other purposes.

Objectives:

• To protect workers from exploitation by providers of labour hire services.
• To ensure labour hire service providers meet their workplace obligations and responsibilities to the workers they supply.
• To promote the integrity of the labour hire services industry.
• To promote responsible practices in the labour hire services industry.
• To establish a licensing scheme to regulate the provision of labour hire services.
• To establish a register of labour hire licensees.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of a licensing scheme for providers of labour hire services.
• Appointment and functions of a Labour Hire Licence Commissioner to promote understanding, acceptance, and compliance with the Act.
• Establishment and functions of a Labour Hire Licensing Advisory Committee to advise the Minister.
• Requirements for applying for and holding a labour hire licence, including suitability criteria and licence conditions.
• Creation of a public labour hire licence register.
• Offences and penalties for providing labour hire services without a licence, breaching licence conditions, or engaging unlicensed providers.
• Provisions for handling complaints about labour hire licensees and requesting information about compliance.
• Framework for regulatory action against licensees, including imposing conditions, suspension, disqualification, or cancellation of licences.
• Enforcement powers for authorised persons, including entry to premises, inspection, obtaining records, seizure of things, and search warrants.
• Procedures for notification and review of decisions made under the Act.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Licence Application: To provide labour hire services, an organisation must hold a labour hire licence (Section 23). The application must be in writing and include any information prescribed by regulation (Section 24).
• Information Provision for Application: An applicant must provide any additional information reasonably needed by the commissioner to decide the application, within a stated time and at a stated place, when requested in writing (Section 25).
• Notification of Application Changes: An applicant must give the commissioner written notice of the details of any change in the information provided in an application for a licence, before the application is decided (Section 26).
• General Licence Conditions Compliance: A licensee must comply with the Act and its conditions (Section 29(a)).
• Workplace Laws and Standards Compliance: A licensee must not contravene workplace laws or standards (Section 29(b)).
• Notification of Regulatory Action: A licensee must notify the commissioner, as soon as possible after becoming aware, of any proposed regulatory action or regulatory action taken against the licensee under another labour hire law (Sections 29©, 44(2)).
• Updating Licensee Details: If contact details for the licensee or the business’s trading name change, the licensee must tell the commissioner in writing about the change as soon as practicable, but not later than 7 days after the change happens (Section 32). Failure to comply may result in a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.
• Providing Compliance Information: A licensee must give the commissioner information about the licensee’s compliance with the Act within a stated reasonable period when requested in writing by the commissioner, either on receipt of a complaint or on the commissioner’s own initiative (Section 38).
• Prohibition on Unlicensed Operations: An organisation must not provide labour hire services without holding a labour hire licence (Section 33(1)). Maximum penalty: for a corporation – 3,000 penalty units.
• Prohibition on False Representation: An organisation must not falsely represent that it holds a labour hire licence (Section 33(2)). Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units.
• Adherence to Licence Conditions: An organisation holding a labour hire licence must comply with all conditions imposed on that licence (Section 34). Failure to comply may result in a maximum penalty of 200 penalty units.
• Engaging Licensed Providers: An organisation must not enter into an arrangement for the provision of labour hire services unless the proposed provider is the holder of a licence (Section 35(1)). Contravention may result in a civil penalty for a corporation of a maximum equivalent to 3,000 penalty units, unless the provider was included in the register as licensed at the time, or there was a reasonable excuse.
• Cooperation with Inspections and Audits:
  • Identity Card Production: If an authorised person requests, the occupier must be shown the authorised person’s identity card (Section 51).
  • Consent to Entry: If entry is sought with consent, the authorised person must inform the occupier of the purpose of entry, the reason and identity of any accompanying persons, that seized items may be used in evidence, and that consent may be refused. If consent is given, the authorised person must ask the occupier to sign an acknowledgment of consent and provide a copy (Section 52).
  • Compliance with Requirements During Entry: During an authorised entry, the occupier or anyone at the premises may be required to:
    • Give information or answer questions relevant to a function under the Act (Section 53(1)(d)).
    • Produce documents or anything else relevant to a function under the Act, whether at the premises or elsewhere, that the person has or has access to (Section 53(1)(d)).
    • Give copies of documents produced (Section 53(1)(e)).
    • Give reasonable help to the authorised person to exercise a power (Section 53(1)(f)). Failure to comply may result in a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units (Section 53(2)).
  • Compliance with Written Information Requests: Licensees, banks/financial institutions holding licensee accounts, and accountants/bookkeepers engaged by a licensee may be required in writing by an authorised person to give information or produce documents or anything else reasonably required for the Act (Section 54(1)). Failure to comply may result in a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units (Section 54(2)).
  • Self-Incrimination Warning: Before requiring information or documents, an authorised person must warn the person that failure to comply is an offence and about the effect of abrogation of privilege against self-incrimination (Section 56).
  • Non-interference with Seized Items: If an authorised person restricts access to a seized thing, interference with that thing without the authorised person’s approval is an offence (Section 57(5)). Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.
  • Direction to Give Name and Address: An authorised person may direct a person believed to have committed an offence or assist an investigation to immediately provide their full name and home address (Section 58(2)). If the detail is believed false, evidence of correctness may be required (Section 58(3)). Failure to comply is an offence (Section 59).
• Record-Keeping Requirements: Implicitly, organisations must keep records about workers, payment of tax or superannuation, and health and safety, as compliance with “workplace law or standard” is a licence condition (Section 29(b)), and these laws are listed in the dictionary. Authorised persons have powers to examine, copy, and require production of documents relating to contraventions (Section 53(1)(b,d,e), 54(1)).

Metadata Keywords:

Labour hire, licensing, regulation, compliance, workforce, ACT, Australian Capital Territory, employment, legislation.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 9 July 2025 Version number: Republication No 5

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Not specified in document.

Date Added to database:

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

URL:

https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/DownloadFile/a/2020-21/current/PDF/2020-21.PDF →