Labour Hire Licensing alert – Victorian legislation commences operation today

The Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) (Act) was introduced to better regulate the labour hire industry, reflecting similar legislation introduced in Queensland and South Australia (although the South Australian scheme is being repealed).

The Victorian scheme commences operation today (29 April 2019).

Labour hire ‘providers’, as that term is defined under the Act, must apply for a licence to operate and enter into labour hire arrangements in Victoria, even if the work is to be performed outside Victoria.

It will be an offence under the Act to provide labour hire services without a licence. It will also be an offence for a ‘host’ business to use workers from an unlicensed provider, or to fail to report an unlicensed provider to the Victorian authority.

The Victorian authority is allowing a 6 month ‘grace’ period for affected businesses to take action.  The Victorian authority has been proactively contacting companies which may be potentially caught by the legislation, to remind them of the need to apply for a licence. The authority’s website can be accessed here.

A link to an article we released last year comparing key aspects of the Labour hire legislation in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia can be found here.