Welcome to the Labour Hire Authority's August e-News

Labour hire providers to benefit from applying early

Thank you to the many labour-hire providers who have already applied for a licence.

Providers benefit from submitting complete applications early because:

Providers benefit from submitting complete applications early because:

• Host businesses can find that you have lodged an application on our website.
• If a decision has not been made by 29 October 2019 then you may continue to operate until a decision is made on your licence.

There is no benefit to leaving your application until the last minute: Don’t risk making a mistake.

Upcoming events

The Authority has delivered over 95 information sessions and forums across Victoria to help providers and hosts understand their obligations.

These sessions have involved a range of industries such as security, cleaning, meat processing, fruit and vegetable harvesting and processing, vocational training, finance, consulting and IT, healthcare, manufacturing, accommodation, construction and transport.

Scheduled information sessions

More sessions will be added. Please visit our website and register as sessions become available.

Trustees must be the applicants for trusts

When applying for a licence on behalf of a trust, the applicant must be a natural person or an organisation, not the trust.

This is because a trust is a relationship, not a legal entity, and cannot be an applicant for a licence or a licensee if the application is successful.

Here are scenarios of individuals and corporations acting as trustees and applying for a licence.

Individuals as trustees: Jennifer Smith as Trustee for the Smith Family Trust

• The Smith Family Trust wishes to carry on a business as a Licensed Labour Hire Provider in the aged care sector. The Smith Family Trust has one trustee being Jennifer Smith.
• For the trust to gain a licence, Jennifer Smith in her capacity as trustee of the trust must complete an application for a licence.

Corporations as trustees: ABC Pty Ltd as trustee for the ABC trading trust.

• ABC Pty Ltd is a company incorporated through ASIC and is the trustee for the ABC trading trust which is engaged in providing labour hire services to the fruit growing industry.
• For the trust to gain a licence, ABC Pty Ltd as trustee of the trust must complete an application for a licence.

Labour hire scope scenarios

Our website provides a range of scope scenarios to help give you an idea of what is and is not labour hire. These scenarios have been developed in response to your feedback and will be progressively updated.

These examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. You should consider your particular circumstances when determining whether you require a labour-hire licence. If you are unsure, you should seek legal advice.

Who is a labour-hire provider?

Home care business scenario

Janet is 86 and lives in her own home. Janet needs some personal and domestic help in her home and is eligible for relevant government subsidies. Janet asks Home Assist Pty Ltd (Home Assist) to supply a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) to come to her home for one hour each day. Home Assist employs Marg to go to Janet’s, and other clients’ homes, and perform various personal care and domestic tasks.

Is the arrangement between Janet asks Home Assist a labour-hire arrangement?

• Although Home Assist supplies carers to perform work in the homes of its clients, it is not a labour-hire provider because it is not supplying carers to work in and as part of the business or undertaking of another person.
• Marg is not a worker as, although she is performing work for Janet, the work is not in and as part of a business or undertaking of Janet.
• Although the work is being performed at Janet’s residence, she is not conducting a business and is not a host.

Security business scenario

Market Festival Pty Ltd (Market Festival) holds weekly night markets in Melbourne. Market Festival employs 20 security guards to perform crowd control at the night markets. Under its contract with the local council, Market Festival must have 20 security guards working each night that the night market operates.

A security guard employed by Market Festival phones in sick on the day of the night market. To cover the sick security guard and fulfil its obligations under its contract with the local council, Market Festival enters into an arrangement with Protect Pty Ltd (Protect). Protect is a business that provides security guards to other businesses that run public events.

Sam is an employee of Protect. Under the arrangement between Market Festival and Protect, Sam works as a security guard at the night market to cover the sick Market Festival, security guard. Sam patrols alongside the remaining 19 security guards employed by Market Festival.

Is the arrangement between Protect and Market Festival a labour-hire arrangement?

Yes, the arrangement between Protect and Market Festival is a labour-hire arrangement.

• Market Festival is a host – Protect supplies, Sam, to perform work in and as part of Market Festival’s business.
• Protect is a labour-hire provider – it supplies Sam to Market Festival to perform work in and as part of Market Festival’s business and must pay Sam.
• Sam is a worker – he has an arrangement with Protect under which Protect supplies him to Market Festival to perform work.

Protect must hold a labour-hire licence under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018. Protect is a labour-hire provider whether or not they supply Sam on a temporary or ongoing basis.

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