Host

Key labour hire industries

Certain industries have broader definitions of labour hire – including horticulture, meat and poultry processing and commercial cleaning.

For more information and tailored guidance material, visit Key labour hire industries.

General definition of labour hire services

A labour hire provider is defined under the Act as a business that has an arrangement in place with one or more individuals to supply the individuals to perform work in and as part of a host’s business or undertaking and is obliged to pay the individual for the work performed for the host.

For more information, visit General definition of labour hire services.

Excluded classes of workers

There are some circumstances where supplying workers is not considered to be labour hire. Businesses that only provide workers in the circumstances described below will not require a licence.

For more information, visit Excluded classes of workers. 

Providers

A business in any industry that engages workers through a labour hire provider is also considered a labour hire host.

For more information on labour hire providers, visit Providers or Requirements for labour hire providers.

Before engaging a new provider:

• Check the provider is licensed using the Labour Hire Licence Register on the LHA website.
• Do not rely on paper documentation – it could be illegitimate or out of date.
• Check the age of the provider’s company and their industry details.
• Ask for evidence of the provider’s company structure, hierarchy of control and contracting arrangements.
• • Confirm that the company offering services is the same as the one listed on the Register: Note who is named as running the business, including any nominated officers.
  • If the person approaching you is not one of those people, confirm their connection to the licensed provider and authority to act, and ask to see an identity document.
  • Contact the provider’s nominated officer using the details on the Register, to satisfy yourself that the person or business is the licensed provider.
  • Keep a record of these checks for reference.

When engaging a new provider:

• Sign a written contract that properly identifies who they are and ensures workers will be paid the correct wages and entitlements.
• Include clear and specific expectations of the provider, including an obligation to advise of any subcontracting arrangements or changes to their business or licence status.
• Set clear expectations that the provider must comply with all workplace laws

For more information, please visit the Check a provider’s licence status page.

Licence fraud

Licence fraud involves persons mispresenting themselves as being a licensed provider.

It can expose hosts to the risk of involvement with criminal elements, and the risk of participating directly in unlawful conduct.

Licence fraud also impacts licensed providers – as potential targets of fraud, and due to unlawful competitive disadvantage – while also increasing the risk of harm to workers including loss of wages or entitlements.

Hosts should be aware of potential indicators of licence fraud, including:

• paper documentation that cannot be verified – e.g. licences, bank statements, contact details
• any provider information that does not match the Labour Hire Licence Register
• bank account names which either do not match a licensed provider, or which frequently change.

Businesses can contribute to a level playing field for legitimate labour hire providers, protecting workers and improving the integrity of the labour hire industry by reporting issues such as attempted licence fraud to LHA using the Report a Problem tool.

Illegal phoenix activity

Hosts should be aware of illegal phoenix activity, where a company is liquidated, wound up or abandoned in a deliberate attempt to avoid paying its debts.

A new company is then started to continue the same business activities without the debts.

Illegal phoenix activity harms both businesses and workers:

• Legitimate businesses are put at a competitive disadvantage. 
• Employees miss out on wages, super and entitlements.
• The community loses revenue that could contribute to community services.

Labour hire hosts can take steps to protect their businesses from illegal phoenix activity by looking out for the following signs:

• quotes lower than market value
• company directors previously involved with liquidated entities
• requests for payments to a new company or bank account
• changes to a company’s directors and name, while the manager and staff remain the same.

Workplace health and safety

Under workplace health and safety laws, a host is taken to be the ‘employer’ of a labour hire worker if a provider supplies or places the worker to perform work at a host business.

Hosts should work with providers to consult, coordinate and cooperate with each other to meet shared workplace health and safety duties to labour hire workers.

This means they should:

• share information that allows them to jointly manage health and safety
• implement health and safety arrangements and respond to reasonable requests 
• work together to eliminate gaps in health and safety measures. 

LHA works with other state and commonwealth agencies to protect the rights of labour hire workers in Victoria.

You can help protect labour hire workers by reporting concerns or information about:

• mistreated labour hire workers
• unlicensed labour hire providers
• hosts engaging unlicensed labour hire providers
• unlawful behaviour or misconduct by labour hire providers.

If you would like to report a problem to LHA, please visit the Report a Problem tool.

LHA has a team of inspectors whose role is to promote, monitor, investigate and enforce compliance.

Hosts may be investigated or required to produce documents in relation to their use of labour hire providers.

Where there are reasonable grounds, inspectors have the power to:

• require documents to be produced
• require information to be provided
• enter and search
• examine and seize anything suspected of being connected with a possible contravention of the LHL Act or Regulations
• inspect, copy, or take extracts from documents on the premises and make images or recordings
• seek the assistance of other persons
• where necessary, apply to the Magistrates' Court for a search warrant.

The Labour Hire Authority has a team of inspectors whose role is to:

• promote
• monitor
• investigate
• enforce compliance with the LHL Act and Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic).

Where there are reasonable grounds, inspectors have the power to:

• require documents to be produced
• require information to be provided
• enter and search
• examine and seize anything suspected of being connected with a possible contravention of the LHL Act or Regulations
• inspect, copy, or take extracts from documents on the premises and make images or recordings
• seek the assistance of other persons
• where necessary, apply to the Magistrates' Court for a search warrant.

Hosts may be investigated or required to produce documents in relation to their use of labour hire providers.

A person or organisation who has an interest in the protection of workers or the integrity of the labour hire industry, such as a host, may object to a licence being issued or renewed. 

All providers applying for a new or renewed labour hire licence are assessed in relation to their compliance with a range of relevant state and commonwealth laws, and whether they are a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Objections can be made by clicking on ‘Raise an objection to this application’ next to the provider’s licence application on the Received Labour Hire Application public register.