Australia: Launching soon - Proposed labour hire licensing schemes around Australia

Following various parliamentary inquiries at the Federal and State level into labour hire practices, it looks as though state-based labour hire licensing schemes will very soon be a reality, with the Queensland Government¹ and more recently the South Australian Government² passing legislation to introduce state-based labour hire licensing schemes in their respective states. The Queensland scheme will commence on 16 April 2018 with a 60 day transition period and the South Australian scheme will commence on 1 March 2018 with a six month transition period. Victoria also looks set to follow Queensland and South Australia, with the Victorian Government recently introducing a labour hire licensing bill into Parliament, in response to its inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work³. 

The licensing schemes to be established in Queensland and South Australia and  proposed in Victoria will regulate both “providers of labour hire services” and businesses that engage these providers (which may capture companies outside the traditional labour hire industry), so now is the time to understand the potential implications of the proposed changes for your business. 

Please click here for a PDF version of the presentation.

1. For more information on the Queensland scheme see our article: Queensland Labour Hire Licensing Bill passes.

2. For more information on the South Australian scheme see our article: South Australian Labour Hire Licensing Bill passes.

3. For more information on the introduction of the bill to establish a Victorian scheme see our article: Victoria - Labour Hire Licensing Bill introduced.

This presentation was prepared by Catherine Berry, Senior Associate, Brisbane and Tamsin Lawrence, Solicitor, Melbourne.

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