Construction industry
Labour hire is a longstanding feature of the construction industry, commonly seen in areas including traffic management, rail work, crane operation, trades, formwork, and labouring work.
As at June 2026, 651 licensed labour hire providers were operating in Victoria’s construction industry.
Under Victorian law, labour hire providers must hold a licence, and businesses must only engage licensed providers to supply workers.
Licensing helps to ensure labour hire companies meet their obligations to workers, and supports fairness, transparency, and integrity in the industry.
Labour hire providers must comply with a range of legal obligations, including around worker pay and conditions, superannuation and taxation.
Senior decision-makers, and anyone else who influences or controls the business, must also be ‘fit and proper’ – in terms of their legal and compliance history, as well as their honesty, integrity and professionalism.
Under stronger, broader laws now in effect in Victoria, labour hire companies – and the people running them – must measure up to a range of new checks and requirements – for more information, visit Labour hire law changes 2026.
The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) oversees Victoria’s labour hire licensing scheme, including its monitoring, compliance and enforcement.
Under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic), penalties for using or providing unlicensed labour hire services may exceed:
- $660,000 for a corporation
- $160,000 for an individual.
Penalties also apply for advertising labour hire services without a licence, or before a licence application is approved. Any subcontractors to a labour hire provider must also be licensed.
New licensing requirements for construction businesses
To further address unlawful conduct and improve integrity, the legal definition of labour hire has been broadened in Victoria’s construction industry.
New Regulations were gazetted on 27 October 2026 following a consultation undertaken by Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV).
The new Regulations apply to Victoria’s construction industry from 18 January 2027.
The definition of labour hire has now been broadened to cover the following activities on Victorian Government-funded construction projects with a total cost over $50 million:
- traffic management
- site security
- concreting
- crane operating.
Under the new Regulations, companies performing the prescribed activities will require a labour hire licence and it will be unlawful to engage an unlicensed company to perform these activities. Significant penalties apply for using or providing unlicensed labour hire services.
For more information on the changes, including prescribed activities, visit New Licensing Obligations for the Construction Industry.
LHA action in the construction industry
LHA has taken significant action to improve the integrity of labour hire in Victoria’s construction industry to date, including (as at 30 June 2026):
- 50 licence applications refused
- 164 licences cancelled
- 40 licences with conditions imposed.
LHA has also prosecuted unlawful conduct in the construction industry, including in a case that saw the highest total penalties for breaches of labour hire law in Australian history, in September 2024.
In that case, the Supreme Court of Victoria issued $759,674 in total penalties to five companies and three company directors for involvement in unlicensed labour hire operations in construction.
Current enforcement action
LHA is currently taking enforcement action in relation to the following businesses in the construction industry.
The following licensees have been issued notices advising that LHA intends to cancel their licence, providing the grounds for cancellation and an invitation to show cause why LHA should not do so.
The licensees are permitted to provide labour hire services unless their licence is cancelled by LHA. Licence cancellations are recorded on the Labour Hire Licence Register.
| Business name | Licence number | Nominated officer | ABN | Location | Date of notice |
| M1 TRADES & LABOUR PTY LTD | VICLHL07057 | Michael Portia | 46 161 430 968 | Keilor Park |
17 August 2026 (Incorporating new laws from June 2026) |
| BK TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PTY LTD |
VICLHL09450 |
Duane John Allen | 99 665 847 405 | Port Melbourne | 23 June 2026 |
| TOP UP LABOUR HIRE PTY LTD | VICLHL02941 |
Steve Mellech |
82 637 959 098 |
Oakleigh South |
26 May 2026 (Incorporating new laws from June 2026) |
The following licence applicants have had their licence application refused by LHA.
| Business name | Nominated officer | ABN | Location | Date of refusal |
| M1 TRAFFIC CONTROL PTY LTD |
Tony Paragalli |
49 139 453 268 | Keilor Park |
1 October 2026 |
The following licence applicants have been issued notices advising that LHA intends to refuse their licence application, providing the grounds for proposed refusal and an invitation to show cause why LHA should not do so.
| Business name | Nominated officer | ABN | Location | Date of notice |
| M1 TRAFFIC CONTROL METRO PTY LTD | Jordan Paragalli | 14 666 812 559 | Keilor Park |
1 October 2026 |
The following businesses have elected to cancel their labour hire licences after the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) commenced investigations into the businesses.
| Business name | Licence number | Nominated officer | ABN | Location | Effective date of cancellation | Status |
| 24/7 LABOUR PTY LTD | VICLHL08215 |
Kristina Kuzmanovska |
93 666 145 884 |
Gisborne |
15 June 2026 | Cancelled at licensee's request |
| M1 Security Services Pty Ltd | VICLHL10556 |
Stephen Kyriacou |
24 631 974 493 |
Eltham |
18 June 2026 | Cancelled at licensee's request |
LHA also publishes the details of all licences refused, cancelled or with conditions imposed:
- daily, via relevant licence records on LHA’s Labour Hire Licence Register
- monthly, via a Licensing Action Report in the LHA News e-newsletter
- by notification to any subscribed party, via LHA’s Follow My Providers tool.
Key issues
To prevent worker exploitation, LHA targets specific harms common within the labour hire industry when assessing licence applications and through compliance activities on licence holders.
Key issues affecting the horticulture industry include:
Collaboration with regulators and law enforcement
A dedicated internal taskforce leads LHA’s work to investigate and address unlawful behaviour in the construction sector.
LHA’s construction taskforce works closely with a range of primary regulators and law enforcement to detect, disrupt and deter non-compliance through:
- sharing data and intelligence
- collaboration when assessing licence applications
- compliance monitoring and investigations
- joint field activities.
LHA is a member of a number of cross-jurisdictional regulatory and law enforcement groups addressing alleged criminal or unlawful conduct in the construction industry.
LHA is also a member of the Victorian Government’s alliance of regulators, law enforcement and other entities working to address allegations related to Victorian Government construction sites.
This alliance was formed in response to the Formal Review into Victorian Government Bodies’ Engagement with Construction Companies and Construction Unions, known as the Wilson Review.
Also in response to the Wilson Review, the Victorian Government has announced LHA’s regulatory powers will be strengthened to further address unlawful conduct in the construction industry.