• Prosecution

Labour hire workers who had their wages deducted to pay for substandard accommodation have been issued refunds totalling almost $160,000, following sustained action by the Labour Hire Authority (LHA).

LHA identified horticulture workers were housed in overcrowded, unsanitary and unsafe conditions at two Warragul properties provided by their employer Kyshan Pty Ltd, following an investigation in late 2025.

Kyshan voluntarily issued refunds to the 51 workers for living costs deducted from their wages during the seven-month period the workers lived at the properties, with some workers receiving refunds as high as $5,800. 

The refunds came after sustained and direct action by LHA to protect the workers from further harm.

LHA’s intervention also led to Kyshan moving the affected workers into newly built homes where each worker had their own bedroom and shared cooking and bathing facilities with no more than three other tenants.

In November 2025, LHA inspectors found that Kyshan had been providing accommodation at two properties – a four-bedroom house with a stand-alone granny flat, and a motel – in conditions that raised considerable concerns about worker health and safety.

LHA identified serious issues at the properties including:

• significant overcrowding
• a malfunctioning septic system, causing foul-smelling effluent to pool in the front yard
• extensive mould
• insufficient smoke alarms
• inadequate facilities, and a non-functional washing machine, forcing workers to hand-wash their clothes.

LHA formed the view that the $190 weekly accommodation deduction from workers’ wages was unreasonable in the circumstances and may amount to Kyshan failing to comply with workplace law, as well as not meeting minimum accommodation standards.

To prevent further risk to the worker’s health, safety and wellbeing, LHA imposed conditions on the labour hire licence of Kyshan in December 2025, preventing them from charging workers for accommodation until LHA was satisfied the accommodation met minimum standards.

LHA met with Kyshan and the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) to discuss its concerns, and worked with the Baw Baw Shire Council, who conducted its own inspections and took immediate action to protect the affected workers and the local community.

LHA also engaged with affected workers, to better understand their living conditions, advise them of their rights and prevent future exploitation.

LHA further imposed the standard accommodation conditions on Kyshan’s licence in August 2026, as well as an additional reporting condition, putting the company and other providers on notice that providing substandard worker accommodation does not pay and may result in licence cancellation.

All affected workers, many of whom were from Timor-Leste, have received the refund from Kyshan, including those who have since returned to their home countries.

While labour hire licensing acts to improve the integrity of the industry and to protect workers, LHA takes direct action to address ongoing and sustained exploitative practices, such as housing workers in unsafe accommodation.

PALM scheme workers are often particularly vulnerable, especially when their housing conditions are dependent on employers who fail to provide meaningful income relative to deductions.

LHA routinely inspects worker accommodation facilities during site visits, especially when there are concerns about meeting minimum standards.

When incidences of alleged worker exploitation are identified, LHA works with other agencies and councils to ensure the safety and security of workers affected.

Standard licence conditions on worker accommodation

Working with local councils and other regulators, LHA has developed standard accommodation licence conditions to clarify key existing legal obligations that apply to accommodation providers, and to allow LHA to more easily cancel the licences of non-compliant providers.

To address the significant risks of worker harm and to clarify expectations for licence holders, LHA now applies licence conditions relating to worker accommodation on all new licences granted from 1 June 2026, for businesses operating in horticulture and meat and poultry processing. LHA will also apply the standard conditions progressively to existing licences.

Under these conditions, labour hire licence holders are ultimately responsible for the standard of accommodation they procure or provide for their workers, regardless of other parties involved – such as real estate agents, property owners or operators of a motel, rooming house or caravan park.

The conditions prohibit licence holders from procuring or providing accommodation that does not comply with minimum accommodation standards as defined in the conditions, including:

• where the number of workers exceeds the occupancy caps detailed in the conditions
• where workers are housed in outbuildings, sheds, garages and other like structures
• where there is inadequate supply of hot water to all bathing, kitchen and laundry facilities
• where there is an insufficient number of toilets, showers and wash basins for the number of workers occupying the property
• where there are no, or an insufficient number of, ovens, cooktops, refrigerators, washing machines, heating and cooling facilities, and smoke alarms.

In addition, there are a number of conditions detailing the obligation on licence holders to ensure that accommodation is maintained in a good state of repair and in good working order.

These conditions also prohibit providers from making deductions from workers’ wages for repairs to accommodation or supplied facilities where damage resulted from reasonable use and/or fair wear and tear.

Failure to comply with licence conditions can lead to licensing action – up to and including cancellation – and legal action where required to address unlawful conduct. Maximum penalties of more than $160,000 also apply for non-compliance with licence conditions.

For more information and guidance, visit Licence Conditions.