New Labour Hire Laws – 29 April 2019
The Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 will come into force in Victoria as of Monday 29 April 2019.
If you use the services of a labour hire company, you will be a ‘labour hire host’ under the new Act.
Labour hire hosts are people such as businesses, farms or other organisations that use the services of labour hire providers to obtain labour for their enterprise.
Hosts can be assured that licensed providers have been assessed in relation to their compliance with a range of relevant State and Commonwealth laws and whether they are a fit and proper person to hold a labour hire licence.
Under the new Laws, labour hire businesses will need to declare that, to their knowledge, they comply with:
- taxation laws
- superannuation laws
- occupational health and safety laws
- workers
compensation laws - labour hire industry laws
- workplace laws
- migration laws and
- applicable minimum accommodation standards.
As a labour hire host under the new law, you will have a legal obligation imposed on you to use only licensed labour hire providers. Before taking on any workers from a labour hire business, you will need to check the new online ‘Register of Licensed Labour Hire Providers’.
The Labour Hire Authority will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the new laws. Their Inspectors will have a range of powers including:
- enter and search premises
- examine and seize anything suspected of being connected with a possible contravention
- inspect, copy or take extracts from documents on the premises and make images or recordings
- seek the assistance of other persons
- where necessary apply to the Magistrates’ Court for a search warrant.
It is important that you ensure compliance with the new laws as there are penalties of up to $500,000 for hosts who use the services of unlicensed labour hire businesses or otherwise try to circumvent the laws.