Annual reporting

In December 2025, the Victorian Parliament passed a bill to strengthen the powers of the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) to further address unlawful conduct in labour hire and the construction industry.

The Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill is being implemented in stages during 2026 to make Victoria’s labour hire laws stronger and broader.

For more information on the new licensing requirements, visit Labour hire law changes 2026.

From 1 June 2026, three important changes will come into effect, impacting who is considered suitable to hold a labour hire licence, and on what basis. The changes will apply to all licence holders and applicants.

If you hold a labour hire licence, you should be aware of these changes and ensure you comply with the new requirements for annual reports submitted from 1 June.

Key changes from 1 June

1. A stronger fit and proper person test

People who wish to be involved in running a labour hire company – as a nominated officer or relevant person – will need to pass a more rigorous ‘fit and proper person test’.

LHA will be able to consider new factors to determine whether a person is fit and proper, including:

• if the person is under the control or influence of another person who is not fit and proper
• the person’s character, including their honesty, integrity and professionalism.

2. Overall compliance is more important

LHA will have more scope to assess compliance with relevant laws to make licensing decisions – including to refuse an application or cancel a licence – by considering:

• previous, current and ongoing compliance with relevant laws
• a wider range of relevant laws, in addition to the existing labour hire and workplace laws, including laws relating to bankruptcy, consumer protection, fair trading and corporate regulation.

3. Businesses must be financially viable

To apply for or renew a licence, a labour hire business will need to declare that they are financially viable, and LHA must be satisfied that a business is financially viable.

Annual reporting changes from 1 June

From 1 June, to meet these new requirements, there will be a range of changes to the information LHA collects through licensing transactions such as annual reports, and to how LHA assesses that information.

Depending on the nature of your business and individual circumstances, your annual report may need to include:

• declarations that the licence holder is compliant with an expanded list of relevant laws, and is financially viable
• tax and superannuation information relating to independent contractors
• evidence of approval to engage apprentices or trainees from VRQA, if relevant
• a declaration as to whether payments to workers were made in cash
• details of any deductions made from worker payments for accommodation, meals or transport, and the addresses of any accommodation provided to workers.

As with all information you provide to LHA, it is important that your annual report is complete and correct. Providing false or misleading information to LHA may constitute a criminal offence that may result in licence cancellation, prosecution and significant individual penalties.

Transition arrangements and LHLO portal outage

While these changes are implemented, some LHLO portal functions will be unavailable – including annual reporting – from 4.00pm Friday 29 May to Sunday 31 May.

If your annual report is due during this time, please submit your application and payment in full prior to 29 May 2026.

For more information on the new licensing requirements, visit Labour hire law changes 2026.

How do I lodge my annual report?

Your annual report is lodged by answering a series of questions through your LHLO account.

You will receive a notification email asking you to log into your LHLO account when it is time to complete your annual report.

Guide: Lodging an annual report using the portal

Who should complete the annual report?

The nominated officer of the licensed provider is required to complete the annual report through their LHLO account.

When do I need to lodge my annual report?

Labour hire providers have 28 days from the end of each reporting period to lodge their report.

Your annual report due date can be found in your LHLO account.

Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018, it is a condition of every licence that the licence holder must provide LHA with information about their labour hire activities every 12 months.

Failure to comply with a licence condition may result in significant penalties. For more information, please visit the Penalties page.

If you have any problems lodging your report on time, please contact the Authority before your reporting period ends to discuss your individual circumstances.

Once the annual report has been completed and lodged with the Authority, there is no need for you to contact us about the status of your annual reporting obligations.

Your annual report will be provided to a licensing officer where the information will be reviewed. It may also be reviewed by a compliance and enforcement officer. We also work with other Victorian, Commonwealth and interstate agencies to complete checks to improve the transparency and integrity of the labour hire industry and prevent the exploitation of labour hire workers by providers and hosts.

If your annual report is incomplete, or you have not provided the relevant documents, the Authority will contact you via the LHLO account.

The Authority may also need to contact you, or a relevant person, to provide further information relating to the responses provided. We will also do this through the LHLO account.

You can find a summary of the information and supporting documents you need to complete the reporting in the Annual reporting guide and checklist.

• Annual reporting guide and checklist (PDF)

Information relating to workers

As part of the Annual reporting process, LHA asks providers for information about the total number of workers they supplied to hosts during the 12 month reporting period.

More information provided in the attached document. 

• Information about workers under s19 of the Act (PDF)

Annual reporting involves the nominated officer answering questions regarding their labour hire activities over the past 12 months.

All questions must be answered to complete the annual reporting. The nominated officer will also be required to upload documents to support of some of the answers required by the Authority.

Taxation

Providers must report whether they were registered with Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for Goods and Services Tax (GST), Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding tax and Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT).

WorkCover registration

Providers must report whether they were registered with WorkSafe Victoria or another WorkCover authority. You will be required to upload a valid Certificate of Currency issued by a WorkCover Authority. Providers can attach the document in a variety of formats including PDF, PNG, JPEG, JPE and JPG.

If the provider is not registered, you will be required to provide a reason.

Please note that Public Liability Insurance is not the same as WorkCover.

Number of workers

Providers must report how many workers they supplied to host businesses.

You must report how many of those workers were:

• employees,
• independent contractors, and
• engaged as both an employee and independent contractor.

Location of workers supplied

Providers must report which Victorian regions they supplied workers to, and if workers were supplied interstate and internationally.

Victoria’s regions include

• Barwon South West
• Gippsland
• Grampians
• Hume
• Loddon Mallee
• Melbourne Metropolitan

For an interactive map to find regions by postcode, please visit Regional Development Victoria.

Accommodation and other goods or services provided to workers

Providers must report whether they:

• provided, or otherwise organised for accommodation for the workers
• provided any other services such as transport, meals or equipment. This relates to those arrangements where the worker was required to contribute financially. This might be by charging the worker, making a deduction from wages or reducing wages.

You will be asked to outline the services or goods provided to workers.

Workers with temporary visas

Providers must report whether they supplied workers that are holders of temporary visas. You must report the visa type and number of workers holding each visa .

Industries workers are supplied to

Providers must report if they supplied workers to the following industries:

• cleaning in relation to commercial premises
• horticulture industry
• meat and/ or poultry processing industry.

The Authority will also ask you to select all other industries that the provider supplied workers to.

Industrial instruments

Providers must report

• if they complied with the obligations under the National Employment Standards (NES)
• the industrial instruments that determine the pay and terms and conditions of the workers that the provider supplied to hosts
• the occupations of independent contractors they supplied to hosts.

Industrial instruments are legally enforceable documents that apply to your workers which includes Awards, Enterprise Agreements and Contracts that apply to independent contractors.

You will be required to attach supporting documentation for piecework agreements. Documents can be attached in a variety of formats including PDF, PNG, JPEG, JPE and JPG.

Previous history

The Authority will ask if the nominated officer, a relevant person, or a body corporate of which the relevant person is an officer of has: 

• been investigated by a regulator, facing proceedings in a court or tribunal, or contravened relating to labour hire industry law, workplace law or minimum accommodation standards;
• been required to notify a regulator of an occupational health and safety incident; and/or
• been subject of a claim for workers compensations or damages under workers’ compensation laws.         

You will be required to upload supporting documents if any of these circumstances apply.

Declarations

You will be required to declare whether the provider complied with:  

• taxation laws
• superannuation laws
• occupational health and safety laws
• workers’ compensation laws
• labour hire industry laws
• workplace laws
• migration laws
• applicable minimum accommodation standards
• any other laws prescribed in the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018.

 If you declare that the provider did not comply, you will be required to provide an explanation for the non-compliance.