Licence conditions
Labour hire licensing acts to protect workers and support industry transparency and integrity, through a range of checks on labour hire businesses and the people operating them.
In circumstances where heightened risks of worker exploitation and unlawful conduct are identified, the Labour Hire Authority (LHA) can apply licence conditions to further address these risks. Conditions can be applied to individual licences or across higher-risk industries and cohorts.
Failure to comply with licence conditions can lead to licensing action – up to and including cancellation – and legal action where required to address unlawful conduct.
Maximum penalties of more than $160,000 apply for non-compliance with licence conditions.
Other licence requirements
To maintain their licence, labour hire providers must comply with any licence conditions, as well as with their other legal and licensing obligations, including to:
- comply with relevant laws and standards
- ensure all relevant persons are ‘fit and proper’
- notify LHA within 30 days of changes to the business or its relevant persons
- provide annual reporting and respond to LHA communication.
Standard licence conditions for providers in high-risk industries
For providers operating in industries with higher risks of worker exploitation and unlawful conduct, LHA applies standard conditions to all new licences, as well as progressively to existing licences.
In the high-risk industries of horticulture, meat and poultry processing, commercial cleaning, and security, these standard conditions act to further:
- increase transparency, by ensuring all workers receive information on their rights, and through reporting on the use of subcontractors, payroll services, and any change in industry
- enforce integrity, through restrictions on cash payments, the use of independent contractors and subcontractors, and clear requirements around accommodation and provision of PPE.
Further guidance is available for providers regarding specific standard conditions: