Mildura citrus growers on notice, after alleged non-compliance found at LHA site visits

7 August 2025
Mildura citrus growers on notice, after alleged non-compliance found at LHA site visits

Labour hire hosts and providers in the Mildura region have been put on notice, following unannounced visits to citrus farms by Labour Hire Authority (LHA) officers in July.

As part of the operation, LHA officers interviewed workers and key staff from hosts and providers, and collected financial documents to enable the investigation of potentially unlawful conduct.

Unlawful labour hire companies have been targeting horticulture businesses in the region, putting growers at risk of fines, disruption and involvement with criminal elements.

With regulators already identifying criminal syndicate involvement in the region, and issues as serious as forced labour – a type of modern slavery – LHA has found labour hire companies attempting to avoid scrutiny through licence fraud.

Labour hire providers have been found:

  • producing fraudulent paper licences
  • doctoring digital files relating to their licensing status
  • claiming to be a specific licensed company without that provider's knowledge, then giving a host their own contact and bank details for payment.

Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic), providers must comply with all relevant laws and may have their licence cancelled for non-compliance.

Investigations are ongoing into alleged non-compliance uncovered during the visits and LHA will continue to work alongside the other agencies on any outcomes.

The visits followed inspections of Yarra Valley farms in March by members of the national Phoenix Taskforce, including officers from LHA, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Australian Border Force (ABF).

Targeting high-risk horticulture areas

The recent site visits are the latest in ongoing inter-agency collaboration to tackle non-compliance in the horticulture industry, including alleged illegal phoenix activity identified during site visits in Koo Wee Rup in 2024, and visits to farms in:

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO)’s recently published Horticulture Compliance Report highlighted 15 key regional horticulture hot spots across Australia as high-risk for non-compliance with workplace laws, from December 2021 through to November 2024.

The report identifies labour hire as a significant factor in compliance issues in the horticulture industry, and names several Victorian regions as having poor compliance, including Mildura.

Since being established in 2019, LHA has taken more compliance and enforcement action against labour hire businesses in horticulture than in any other industry area.

This includes refusing more than 170 licence applications and cancelling over 220 licences in Victoria’s horticulture industry, preventing these non-compliant businesses from operating.

LHA welcomes the announcement of new FWO operations in high-risk Victorian regions and looks forward to continued collaboration to improve labour hire industry compliance. 

LHA will continue to increase its compliance and enforcement operations in the Victorian regions highlighted in the report.

Educating horticulture hosts

In recent years, LHA has invested significantly in campaigns and engagement to raise awareness among labour hire hosts of their legal obligation to only use licensed providers.

From May to June 2025, LHA targeted hosts in the horticulture industry through a statewide communications campaign on digital, social and traditional media channels.

A dedicated web page for horticulture hosts continues to be available and promoted in LHA advertising and communications materials.

The web page includes posters, handouts and digital assets in multiple languages, showing hosts how to check a labour hire provider’s licence, and highlighting the benefits of using licensed providers.

Licensed providers are encouraged to highlight the horticulture host web page to their clients: labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/hort-host

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:

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, visit the Check a provider’s licence status page.