Labour hire law changes 2026

On 24 December 2025, the first changes to the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) were implemented. Broadly, these changes:

• strengthen LHA’s information-gathering powers to better equip LHA to obtain documents from third parties, such as other regulators or professional advisers and enablers, in support of investigating, monitoring and enforcing the Act and Regulations
• increase LHA’s ability to publish information about its work, including contextual information about licensing actions – such as the reasons for a licence cancellation – to promote compliance and educate hosts and providers about their duties, rights and obligations under the labour hire scheme
• enable the Commissioner to share information relating to the labour hire industry with other government agencies and the responsible Minister, where it is in the public interest.

From 1 June 2026, three important changes will come into effect, impacting who is considered suitable to hold a labour hire licence, and on what basis. 

These changes will apply to all licence holders and applicants, so all current or intending licence holders should ensure they comply with the new requirements.

1. A stronger fit and proper person test

People who wish to be involved in running a labour hire company – as a nominated officer or relevant person – will need to pass a more rigorous ‘fit and proper person test’.

LHA will be able to consider new factors to determine whether a person is fit and proper, including:

• if the person is under the control or influence of another person who is not fit and proper
• the person’s character, including their honesty, integrity and professionalism.

2. Overall compliance is more important

LHA will have more scope to assess compliance with relevant laws to make licensing decisions – including to refuse an application or cancel a licence – by considering:

• previous, current and ongoing compliance with relevant laws
• a wider range of relevant laws, in addition to the existing labour hire and workplace laws, including laws relating to bankruptcy, consumer protection, fair trading and corporate regulation.

3. Businesses must be financially viable

To apply for or renew a licence, a labour hire business will need to declare that they are financially viable, and LHA must be satisfied that a business is financially viable.

LHA is highlighting these upcoming changes through a range of communications channels, and advising all existing licence holders to:

• familiarise themselves with the changes outlined in the Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill
• assess any impacts of the changes on their business and its relevant persons, including if a person may no longer be fit and proper
• seek independent advice as needed. 

Licence holders must notify LHA within 30 days if any of their relevant persons cease to be fit and proper – failure to do so may result in licensing action including cancellation.

These new requirements will mean a range of changes to the information LHA collects from licence holders and applicants, and to how it assesses transactions such as licence applications, renewals, annual reporting, and updates to the details of a licensed business or its relevant persons.

An overview of how these changes will affect specific transactions is available on the relevant page:

• Apply for a labour hire licence
• Renew a labour hire licence
• Annual reporting

More detailed information to support licence holders and applicants to complete these transactions will be published from late May.

To implement these changes ahead of 1 June, transactions in the Labour Hire Licensing Online (LHLO) portal will be suspended, and incomplete transactions will be deleted.

From Monday 25 May to Sunday 31 May: Draft licence applications will be deleted and applications will be unavailable to be started, amended or submitted.

From 4pm Friday 29 May to Sunday 31 May: Most other draft transactions – including licence renewals, annual reporting, and changes to details of businesses and relevant persons – will be deleted, and new transactions will be unavailable.

As the Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill applies to all Victorian labour hire licence holders and applicants, LHA recommends seeking high-quality professional advice relevant to your business.

Members of the LHA Enquiries team are unable to provide advice specific to your individual circumstances, but can provide general advice in relation to these changes. Contact the Enquiries team on 1300 545 200 or at enquiries@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au

In the latter half of 2026, the final changes to the Act will be implemented to clarify the definition of labour hire services, to better cover arrangements in a supply chain, and to define certain construction activities as the provision of labour hire within the Regulations.

LHA will continue to keep the industry informed as these changes are implemented.