Targeting hosts in 2025-26 with compliance and communication activities

4 September 2025
Targeting hosts in 2025-26 with compliance and communication activities

Host businesses are an increasing focus for Labour Hire Authority (LHA) engagement, compliance and enforcement activities in 2025-26.

LHA has targeted compliance by host businesses in recent years with:

  • communication campaigns to hosts in horticulture and meat processing
  • engagement events and information sessions for host businesses
  • compliance-related site visits, including with other regulators and law enforcement
  • prosecuting hosts that failed to comply with their legal obligations.

In the year ahead, host-focused industry education and engagement will continue and expand, along with an expanded program of host-targeted compliance and enforcement.

These activities will reinforce hosts’ legal obligation to only use licensed labour hire providers, and highlight the need to check the licence on the LHA website.

Hosts found engaging unlicensed providers risk penalties of over:

  • $650,000 as a company
  • $160,000 as an individual.

LHA continues to highlight with hosts the role licensing plays in ensuring labour hire businesses are run by fit and proper persons, and comply with relevant laws – to protect workers and support legitimate businesses.

Site visits to host businesses

LHA continues to undertake compliance activities such as site inspections to monitor and enforce compliance at host businesses.

During a site visit, LHA compliance officers may ask questions or require documents be produced that demonstrate what a business is doing to meet their legal obligations. This may include details of a provider’s labour hire licence, or information about the providers that a host is using.

It is important for hosts to have a firm understanding of who is working at their premises and under what conditions, or they can face significant penalties, as well as disruption to their business.

LHA action to address non-compliance can include issuing warning notices, cancelling or suspending licences, and prosecuting unlawful behaviour.

Advertising targeting host businesses

An LHA advertising campaign targeting host businesses launched in August across radio, digital, social and traditional media channels, and will run through September.

Businesses who use labour hire services to provide cleaners, security or temporary staffing are often less aware of their labour hire licensing obligations.

The campaign informs hosts that even if they are doing the right thing in other aspects of their business, checking a provider’s labour hire licence should be part of their usual business processes.

Information for hosts – along with English and translated versions of posters, handouts and digital assets – will be available later in September for businesses and stakeholders on the Host page.

Advertisements encourage hosts – regardless of their industry area – to use the tools on the LHA website to check the labour hire licences of providers they have engaged or are seeking to engage.

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 communication campaign on digital, social and traditional media channels.

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

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:

For more information for hosts on how to protect their business when engaging labour hire, visit labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/host