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Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority (LHA) has suspended the licence of Barton Care Pty Ltd with immediate effect, over concerns including that its workers were unqualified and underpaid. 

LHA suspended Barton Care’s Victorian labour hire licence, after forming the view that the company:

• altered pay slips to conceal that it paid workers on student visas to work more than the maximum hours allowed 
• paid workers under the minimum rate in the Aged Care Award
• had inadequate health and safety processes and documentation
• employed dozens of workers with aged care qualifications previously cancelled by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

The significant risk of ongoing harm to elderly residents in the care of unqualified workers led LHA to take the extraordinary step of suspending the company’s labour hire licence with immediate effect.

LHA inspectors attended Barton Care’s business premises in response to intelligence received, obtaining records and speaking with management.

Of the qualifications held by Barton Care workers seen by LHA, nearly 70 per cent were invalid, having been issued by Registered Training Organisations cancelled by ASQA due to non-compliance.

This included a case where a Barton Care worker allegedly attained a qualification only nine days after arriving in Australia, despite the qualification generally taking six to nine months to complete.  

Barton Care supplies hundreds of nurses, carers and support workers to facilities across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Impacted Victorian aged care facilities have been advised of Barton Care’s suspension; LHA has also referred affected workers to the Migrant Workers Centre for support.

Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic), Barton Care faces penalties of over $660,000 if it continues to supply workers while its licence is suspended.

In addition to the licence suspension, LHA has issued Barton Care with a notice of intention to cancel its licence, providing the company 14 days to respond with reasons cancellation should not proceed.

LHA has also engaged with the primary regulators responsible for workplace laws, aged care, and vocational education and training – the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

Comments from Acting Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner, Michelle Osborne:

“We took the extraordinary step to suspend Barton Care’s licence to put an immediate stop to their potentially dangerous conduct.”

“We will consider Barton Care’s response and make a final decision on licence cancellation, but the harms here are so serious that immediate action was clearly necessary.”

‘We encourage anyone with concerns about harms to workers or vulnerable persons caused by labour hire practices to report via our Report a Problem tool.“