• Legislation & regulations

Further amendments to make Victoria’s labour hire laws stronger have taken effect from 1 October 2026, including changes to clarify the definition of labour hire within supply chains, and for commercial cleaning businesses.

It is anticipated that final changes to labour hire licensing regulations will come into effect later in October, which will mean that some specific construction activities will be covered by labour hire law.

These changes are the last arising from the Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill 2025 (Vic) passed in December 2025 – for more information, see Labour Hire Law Changes 2026.

From 1 October, the definition of providing labour hire services under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) has been amended to focus on whether an arrangement between parties has the character of labour supply.

The Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 have also been amended to support these legislative changes.

Within supply chains, any arrangement that has the character of labour supply will require the provider to hold a labour hire licence. This includes ‘bare intermediary’ companies – those that do not directly employ labour hire workers, but which on-supply workers employed by other companies.

In most cases, this will not affect when a labour hire licence is required but will make clearer that businesses require a licence to supply labour anywhere in a supply chain.

Under the new definition, a labour hire provider is an individual or organisation that:

• enters into an arrangement with another person where the character of that arrangement is wholly or principally the supply of labour by the provider to that person. Under such arrangements, the provider supplies workers to perform work for that person and is responsible for paying the workers, whether directly or through one or more intermediaries
• enters into an arrangement wholly or principally to recruit or place workers to provide labour for another person and also provides accommodation for those workers for some or all of the period they perform that labour
• enters into an arrangement wholly or principally to recruit or place workers as independent contractors for another person and manages the performance of those workers’ contracts.

There is an inherent increased risk of non-compliance in complex supply chains, due to the arrangements not always being transparent to the ultimate host business using the workers or to regulators.

This change is aimed at improving accountability of hosts of labour hire services and providers using subcontracting arrangements, to reduce the risk of worker exploitation.

Where complex supply chains exist, the changes will reduce ambiguity of licensing obligations and ensure focus on the true nature of arrangements.

Proposed new legal obligations for construction companies

Since 2019, construction companies operating in Victoria have been required by law to only use labour hire companies that hold a licence issued by the Labour Hire Authority (LHA).

From late October, the legal definition of labour hire is anticipated to be broadened to cover additional construction activities in specific contexts.

Regulatory consultation on the changes was completed by Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV) in September.

From that date, under the preferred option proposed during regulatory consultation, it is anticipated that companies will require a labour hire licence to work on Victorian Government-funded construction projects with a total cost over $50m in the following roles:

• traffic management
• site security
• concreting
• crane operating.

Companies that meet the new definition will require a labour hire licence, and those engaging their services will be required to use companies that hold a licence.

After a brief transitional period, any person found providing these services without having applied for a licence – and any person that uses their services – may face penalties exceeding:

• $660,000 per breach by a company
• $160,000 per breach by an individual.

Changes to clarify the definition of labour hire in commercial cleaning

Under the Regulations in place since 2018, businesses that supply workers to clean commercial premises have generally been required to hold a labour hire licence.

From 1 October, this obligation is supported by the introduction of a definition of commercial premises which codifies current coverage, including the cleaning of accommodation and construction sites. This will make the licence requirement more certain.

Businesses who provide workers to clean commercial premises such as accommodation facilities, construction sites, office buildings and schools among others will continue to require a labour hire licence to operate in Victoria and their obligations under the Act will not change.

Under the Act, penalties for using or providing unlicensed labour hire services can exceed:

• $660,000 for a corporation
• $160,000 for an individual.

Changes already in effect

The changes to the law are in addition to changes implemented earlier in 2026:

• People who are involved in running a labour hire company – as a nominated officer or relevant person – need to pass a more rigorous ‘fit and proper person test’.
• LHA has more scope to assess compliance with a wider range of laws – including previous, current and ongoing compliance – when making licensing decisions, including to refuse an application or cancel a licence.
• To apply for or renew a licence, a labour hire business now needs to declare that it is financially viable, and LHA must be satisfied that a business is financially viable.

For more information, see Labour Hire Law Changes 2026.