Privacy

Web privacy statement

The Victorian Labour Hire Licensing Authority (Authority) is a statutory authority established under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (the Act). The objects of this Act are:

To protect workers from being exploited by providers of labour hire services and hosts; and
To improve the transparency and integrity of the labour hire industry.

All personal information collected by the Authority is handled in accordance with the Victorian Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act), including the Information Privacy Principles and protective data security requirements, together with the Privacy Act 1988 and other law as applicable.

This privacy statement relates only to the information automatically collected from you as a result of your visit to www.labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au (the Authority’s website). You should refer to our Privacy Policy for information about the broader collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Labour Hire Licensing Authority.

Links

This website can link you to other websites to obtain information. The Authority is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites. If you go to those websites you should also review their current privacy statements and notices.

Collection of site visit data

When you visit the Authority website, the web server collects a small amount of information to facilitate its operation. The information collected about your site visit includes:

the Internet Protocol (IP) address (e.g. 192.10.100.20) and network domain name (e.g. .com, .au, .gov) of the internet connection you are using
the type of device you are using
the date and the time of your visit to the site
the country you are located in
the web browser (e.g. Explorer, Safari, Firefox) and operating system you are using (e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X)
the Authority pages or services you accessed and downloaded
if you use the advanced search tool, the search term used
the referring site (if any) through which you clicked through to this site.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small files containing pieces of information that a website creates when you visit the site. A cookie can track how and when you use a site, which site you visited immediately before, and it can store that information about your computer. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. There are two types of cookies, sessional cookies and persistent cookies. The Authority website may use sessional cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you close the browser session.

Opt out

You cannot opt out of the site visit information that is collected by the Authority for analytics purposes. If you choose to disable cookies in your browser this may impair your ability to browse, read and download information contained on the Authority website.

Use of site visit data

The Authority website collects site visit data as described above to understand user trends at an aggregate level and improve website content, web performance, web services and website maintenance. To the extent that site visit data could make you visible, we will not attempt to do so. The Authority may also use site visit information for security audits to protect against threats from hackers, and for other lawful law enforcement and security purposes.

Disclosure of site visit data

The Authority will not disclose the personal information collected as part of your site visit to a third party without your consent, unless we are required or authorised to do so by law or other regulation. In the event of an investigation into suspected unlawful or improper activity, a law enforcement agency or government agency may exercise its legal authority to inspect the web server’s records (for example, in relation to hacking or abusive messages).

Security of your personal information

The Authority and all employees have a statutory duty under the PDP Act to protect your personal information by taking reasonable security steps against such risks as misuse and loss of information and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Specifically, access to systems, applications and the collected data is restricted to authorised personnel only. In addition, any personal information collected and used for identifying user trends (for example, IP address) is aggregated and made anonymous when reports are generated.

Authority to collect personal information

The Authority collects your site visit data under the authority of Information Privacy Principle 1.1 in the PDP Act for the purposes stated above.

Access to your information

You have the right to request access to information held about you by the Authority, and to have it corrected if inaccurate. You should seek access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Your request should be addressed to the FOI officer c/o The Labour Hire Licensing Authority at foi@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au

Contact us

If you have concerns about privacy issues in relation to this website, please contact the Labour Hire Licensing Authority at enquiries@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au

Related information

www.ovic.vic.gov.au

Current at 5 April 2019

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Labour Hire Licensing Authority (LHA) manages personal information.

It sets out the practices we have adopted to collect, use, disclose and protect personal information in accordance with relevant privacy laws – including, the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) (PDP Act) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

By ‘personal information’ we mean ‘information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database) that is recorded in any form and whether true or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can be reasonably ascertained, from the information or opinion.’

Personal information includes sensitive information, such as political affiliation, criminal history, race, and religious beliefs, and other delicate information, such as financial and banking details.

While we do not generally collect health information, we may receive it in limited circumstances as part of our regulatory handling functions and in the course of our normal business processes.

Any personal or health information collected by LHA, whether from a member of the public, an agency or an LHA employee, will be handled in accordance with this policy and relevant privacy laws.

Our functions and responsibilities

LHA is established under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) (LHL Act).

Our functions include:

administering the labour hire licensing scheme
assessing licence applications and renewals
maintaining a public register of licensed providers
monitoring compliance and conducting investigations
undertaking enforcement action where required
receiving and responding to complaints and reports.

As a public sector agency, we also collect and handle personal information for employment, procurement, stakeholder engagement and general administrative purposes.

Information privacy principles

We manage personal information in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) under the PDP Act.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information throughout its lifecycle - from collection to use, storage and disposal.

As a law enforcement body for the purposes of the PDP Act, LHA may rely on limited exemptions from some IPPs where reasonably necessary to perform its regulatory and enforcement functions.

Collection of personal information

What we collect

We collect personal information necessary to perform our functions, including:

identity and contact details
business and employment information
information provided in licence applications and renewals
information about individuals associated with applicants (for example, accountants, “relevant persons”, and “close associates”)
information provided in complaints, objections and reports
information obtained during inspections and investigations.

We may also collect sensitive information where authorised by law, including criminal history information, for probity checks.

We do this as part of our process to ensure that only fit and proper persons are granted a labour hire licence.

How we collect information

We collect personal information in a range of ways, including:

online forms and portals
written applications and correspondence
telephone calls, emails and meetings
our website and reporting tools
documents created during regulatory activities.

Via our telephone management system, we record inbound and outbound telephone calls. We use call recordings for training and quality assurance purposes and to aid our licensing, compliance and enforcement functions. You can ask for a call not to be recorded.

Where practicable, we collect personal information directly from you or your authorised representative.

In some circumstances, we collect information from third parties, including:

Commonwealth and State government agencies and other regulators
law enforcement bodies
industry participants such as hosts and workers
publicly available sources.

We may also collect information using statutory powers under the LHL Act, including during inspections and investigations.

Where required, we will provide a collection notice explaining why information is being collected, how it will be used and disclosed, and the consequences of not providing it.

Use and disclosure of personal information

We use personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, or for related purposes that you would reasonably expect, including:

processing licence applications and administering the licence scheme
promoting, investigating, monitoring and enforcing compliance with the LHL Act or with other laws relevant to a person’s fitness to hold a licence
maintaining the public register
handling complaints and enquiries
communicating with stakeholders
supporting research and reporting (using de-identified information where practicable).

We may disclose personal information:

to our employees, contractors and service providers
to courts and tribunals, including the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
to law enforcement agencies
to other regulators to support their functions
to the Minister for Industrial Relations under s103A of the LHL Act
where required or authorised by law.

We may need to disclose information without consent during an event in order to prevent a serious or imminent threat to individual or public life, safety, health or welfare.

Legislation administered by LHA includes confidentiality and secrecy provisions that protect information but permit disclosure in specified circumstances.

Public registers and publication

LHA is required by law to publish certain information, including maintaining a public register of licensed labour hire providers.

This may include information about individuals where necessary (for example, where a business operates from a residential address).

The LHL Act also contains an express permission for LHA to publish on its website information concerning licensing outcomes, such as the name and business name of an applicant for a licence, if the application is refused or withdrawn, suspended or cancelled, or if LHA has refused to renew a licence.

We may also use channels such as our newsletter or a media release to publish information where we are permitted to do so.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that publicly available information is limited to what is required and is handled appropriately.

Data quality

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. We may verify information through data matching or by consulting other sources where authorised.

When an error is identified (either internally or by an external party) we will correct the information promptly.

Individuals are encouraged to notify us of any changes to their information. Licence holders are also required to notify us certain changes to licence information under the LHL Act.

Data security

We are committed to protecting personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

We manage information security in line with Victorian Government standards and the PDP Act. Our Risk Management Framework aligns with the Victorian Government Risk Management Framework and the AS/NZS ISO 31000 standard.

We implement a range of safeguards, including physical security controls, access restrictions and authentication measures, secure information systems and role-based access to information.

We use appropriate security measures, including encryption, to protect personal information submitted online.

Staff and inspectors are subject to confidentiality requirements and secrecy obligations.

If we become aware that an individual’s information has been inappropriately handled, we will take appropriate action, including to ensure that such a breach does not occur again.

LHA provides licence holders and applicants with access to the Labour Hire Licensing Online Portal to access their licence account online. To protect your privacy, this password should be kept confidential: it must not be displayed, shared or written down.

Data retention

Our records are retained in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) and the authorities issued under that Act.

When personal information is no longer needed for any purpose, and any mandatory period of retention has expired, it may be de-identified or destroyed.

Openness

This policy, which is published on our website and in a hard copy format on request https://www.labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/about-us/contact-us/ outlines how we manage and protect the personal and health information we collect and hold.

We review this policy periodically to ensure it reflects current practices, legislation and community expectations.

AI transparency

We use secure, commercially available software with AI capabilities to support workplace productivity.

We do not use AI where the public may directly interact with it, such as chatbots, or be significantly impacted by it, such as statutory decision making under the LHL Act.

Access to and correction of personal information

You have the right to request access to personal information we hold about you, and to request correction of that information.

We ordinarily process requests for access to records in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (FOI Act).

To find out how to access or correct your personal records, visit the Freedom of Information (FOI) information on our website.

Requests should be made in writing by emailing FOI@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au or via post addressed to:

Freedom of Information Officer

Labour Hire Authority

PO Box 393

Bendigo VIC 3552

Anonymity

Generally, we will be unable to administer our functions properly if we cannot identify the individual to whom the information relates.

However, in some circumstances, for example if you are making a general enquiry, it will not be necessary for you to identify yourself. You may also choose to remain anonymous when providing a tip-off about suspected non-compliant behaviour, however in doing so we might not be able to take action if we cannot contact you to ask for further information or to clarify an aspect of your complaint.

We are mindful of the need to protect the identity of a complainant and other parties involved when we are investigating, referring or responding to a complaint. In these circumstances, we may anonymise individuals and provide additional safeguards on their records to ensure confidentiality is maintained throughout the complaint process.

Unique identifiers

A unique identifier is a number or code given to an individual to distinguish them from other individuals.

We do not generally assign unique identifiers to individuals. However, we do assign a unique identifier to each employee and where necessary also issue and utilise Delegate Numbers and Inspector Numbers.

Licence holders are issued a unique licence number as required by the LHL Act.

We also receive other organisation’s unique identifiers, such as driver licence numbers. However, we do not adopt, use or disclose a unique identifier created by another organisation unless there is a lawful basis for doing so.

Transfer of information outside Victoria

If you provide contact details that are outside Victoria, and we then write to you, we will treat this communication as a transborder data flow done with your consent.

We use cloud-hosting services in accordance with the applicable Victorian Government requirements. If a contracted service provider is located outside Victoria, we endeavour to ensure that they are aware of the obligations and rights provided under Victorian privacy laws.

We are also permitted by law, and without consent, to disclose personal information to agencies in other Australian jurisdictions.

Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles the information in a manner consistent with Victorian privacy laws.

In each of these instances, we try to ensure, as far as practicable, that the disclosed information has the equivalent level of protection to that offered by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic).

Enquiries or complaints about privacy

If you have a question about how we handle your personal information, we encourage you to contact us at enquiries@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au.

We treat your questions and concerns seriously and will try to resolve them fairly and quickly.

If you consider your question or concern has not been resolved, there are various avenues available to you.

You may raise a privacy complaint with our Privacy Officer, by email at privacy@labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au, telephone on 1300 545 200 or by post to the

Privacy Officer

Labour Hire Authority

PO Box 393

Bendigo VIC 3552

If you make a complaint, we will work with you to resolve your complaint and keep you informed of its progress.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner. https://ovic.vic.gov.au/

If you wish to make a complaint against LHA for a breach of privacy in relation to health information, you should contact the Office of the Health Complaints Commissioner. https://hcc.vic.gov.au/

Last updated 11 June 2026