Construction provider must cease operations after VCAT dismisses stay application

7 May 2026
Construction provider must cease operations after VCAT dismisses stay application

A large construction company has had its stay application to continue trading while appealing its licence cancellation dismissed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) cancelled the licence of B K Labour Hire Pty Ltd in January 2026, after an investigation by LHA and high-profile arrests by Victoria Police’s Hawk Taskforce at the company’s headquarters.

BK Labour Hire applied to VCAT to stay the cancellation, which would have enabled the business to continue providing labour hire services until an appeal on its licence cancellation was heard.

LHA strongly opposed the stay application, due to the serious nature of the alleged contraventions.

LHA successfully argued that allowing B K Labour Hire to continue to trade until its appeal was heard would pose an unacceptable risk to the integrity and transparency of the industry. 

“One reason that licensing is such an effective regulatory tool is that it empowers LHA to quickly address unlawful conduct,” says Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner, Steve Dargavel.

“Cancelling a labour hire licence means a business can no longer operate in Victoria, so we take these decisions very seriously, and we conduct our investigations accordingly.”

“As this VCAT outcome shows, when LHA finds that you broke the law, the consequences are serious, and they are imminent,” says Commissioner Dargavel.

LHA cancelled B K Labour Hire’s licence after finding it provided four falsified invoices to LHA, which the company falsely said it had received and paid.

LHA’s investigation found:

  • one invoice was never issued by the relevant entity, nor received by B K Labour Hire
  • three invoices were amended to falsify the invoice amounts, dates or other details.

The VCAT outcome confirms that B K Labour Hire must immediately cease providing labour hire services in Victoria, while the appeal of its licence cancellation takes its course.

B K Labour Hire and its director Bernard Kearney deny deliberate wrongdoing. However, LHA formed the view that B K Labour Hire and/or Mr Kearney contravened section 87 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) by providing information to LHA that they knew to be false or misleading. The VCAT appeal is ongoing.

Providing false or misleading information to LHA or an inspector is a criminal offence under the Act, carrying maximum penalties per charge of more than:

  • $30,000 for an individual
  • $150,000 for a company.

Continued focus on construction

The cancellation of B K Labour Hire’s licence is part of a continuing focus on the construction industry by LHA and other government agencies.

As at February 2026, LHA licensing actions in the construction industry include:

  • 47 licence applications refused
  • 147 licences cancelled
  • 31 licences with conditions imposed.

LHA continues to publish the details of recent enforcement actions in the construction industry on its construction industry webpage.

Actions for hosts – protect your business

Hosts can take two quick actions to protect their business and support LHA in working towards a fairer industry for businesses and workers:

Hosts can find information on how to protect their business when engaging labour hire on the host page.