• Licensing information

Host businesses should be aware of the risks of labour hire licence fraud, and how to spot the signs – even if a provider may appear to be legitimate.

The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) has identified licence fraud as an emerging issue, which can expose hosts to the risk of involvement with criminal elements, and of participating directly in unlawful conduct.

Criminal involvement

Licence fraud often involves criminal offences under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), including falsification of documents and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

By unwittingly working with a person engaging in criminal conduct, hosts can put their business, their workers and their reputation at substantial risk.

Unlawful conduct

Where a host engages an unlicensed business to provide labour hire services, the host risks penalties under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) exceeding:

• $630,000 for a corporation
• $150,000 for an individual.

It is hosts’ responsibility to ensure any provider they engage is licensed to ensure they do not risk incurring these penalties.

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.

Spot the signs

Licence fraud involves a person misrepresenting themselves as a licensed labour hire provider. This can be attempted in a number of ways, including:

• providing fabricated or doctored licence documents – either on paper or electronically – to make it appear their business is licensed when it is not
• misrepresenting themselves in a contract as the director of a licensed business
• providing fabricated bank statements so a host, believing they are paying a licensed provider, makes payments to an unlicensed business
• providing fabricated taxation or business documents that appear to show they represent a licensed provider.

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

• any provider information that does not match the Labour Hire Licence Register
• paper documentation that cannot be verified – e.g. licences, bank statements, contact details
• 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.

In addition to taking enforcement action against unlicensed providers, LHA works with other agencies to detect, deter and respond to licence fraud.

Protect your business and your workers – only use licensed providers

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

• Check the licence of any current providers is active on the Labour Hire Licence Register
• Subscribe to be notified of any changes to providers’ licence status through the Follow my Providers tool.

Before engaging a new provider

• Check the provider is licensed using the Labour Hire Licence Register.
• 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 the business offering services is the same as the one 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 you 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.

Upcoming changes to assist in avoiding banking fraud

Changes further implemented this month by Australian retail banks and building societies will support hosts to avoid licence fraud.

Banks and building societies have committed to implement a new ‘confirmation of payee’ system by May 2025, requiring a payer to confirm the account name of the payee is accurate before making a payment.

These changes may further support hosts to ensure they are paying the correct, licensed provider.

Businesses should also expect more warnings and potential delays when paying someone new or increasing payment limits.

For more information on these initiatives, visit the Australian Banking Association website.