• Welcome articles

Welcome to the September edition of LHA News. 

This month, LHA undertook its third compliance and enforcement operation targeting Mildura and the surrounding Sunraysia region in just over a year. During this operation, LHA inspectors spoke with a Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM) worker who reported that their passport was being withheld, and identified potential worker underpayments, and health and safety concerns.

Investigations are continuing – the latest in LHA’s ongoing focus on horticulture and the Sunraysia region which has already resulted in multiple successful prosecutions. Close to a quarter of labour licences cancelled by LHA in the horticulture industry have been for providers operating in Sunraysia.

While LHA regulates all industries, and all of Victoria, our focus on regions like Sunraysia – and industries like horticulture – is deliberate, and necessary. LHA’s risk-based approach to compliance and enforcement maximises our impact on those seeking to exploit workers or behave unlawfully.

Where an industry or a region improves, LHA can adjust its focus. But where risks of unlawful and harmful conduct remain escalated, so too does LHA’s focus – to protect Victorian workers, legitimate businesses and the wider community.

To further lift compliance in high-risk industries, LHA now applies additional conditions to licences granted in those industries. In this edition, we look at how these new standard conditions work, and their role in improving transparency and integrity in high-risk sectors.

An area of increasing focus for LHA is aged care, with recent inquiries highlighting issues in the sector including the use of labour hire companies, known as ‘agencies’ in the industry.

In recent days, LHA has suspended the licence of an aged care staffing agency with immediate effect. We took this extraordinary step to prevent harm – including to elderly residents – after forming the view that dozens of the agency’s staff held invalid qualifications, and the company failed to meet multiple legal obligations. 

You can read more in the media release included in this edition.

I hope you enjoy this edition.

Michelle Osborne
Acting Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner

In this edition

• Media release: Major aged care staffing agency ordered to suspend operations
• Sunraysia scrutinised as LHA continues targeting high-risk regions
• Final changes to labour hire law to take effect from October 2026
• New licence conditions for providers in high-risk industries
• Upcoming LHA engagement – exhibiting at cleaning expo and educating students on their rights as labour hire workers
• Providers subject to licensing action in July 2026

Licensing update

August 2026:

• 89 licence applications submitted
• 98 licences granted
• 46 licences refused or cancelled (by LHA or provider)
• 59 licence renewals granted