Provider

The Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill is being implemented in stages during 2026 to make Victoria’s labour hire laws stronger and broader.

From 1 June 2026, important changes came into effect, impacting who is considered suitable to hold a labour hire licence, and on what basis. These new requirements apply to all licence holders and applicants, regardless of when a licence application was submitted or granted.

An overview of how these changes affect specific transactions is available on the relevant page:

• Apply for a labour hire licence
• Renew a labour hire licence
• Annual reporting

For more information on the new licensing requirements, visit Labour hire law changes 2026.

All current licence holders and applicants should be aware of these changes and ensure they comply with the new requirements.

A labour hire provider is an individual or organisation that:

• enters into an arrangement with another person where the character of that arrangement is wholly or principally the supply of labour by the provider to that person. Under such arrangements, the provider supplies workers to perform work for that person and is responsible for paying the workers, whether directly or through one or more intermediaries.
• enters into an arrangement wholly or principally to recruit or place workers for another person to provide labour and also provides accommodation for those workers for some or all of the period they perform that labour.
• enters into an arrangement wholly or principally to recruit or place workers as independent contractors for another person, and manages the performance of those workers’ contracts.

Additionally, workers supplied to perform certain activities are considered labour hire workers under the LHL Act, and their employer is considered a labour hire provider.

These activities include:

• cleaning commercial premises
• performing certain horticulture activities
• performing certain activities in a meat or poultry manufacturing or processing plant.

If you supply workers that perform these activities, you are likely to be providing labour hire services and will require a licence.

More information about key labour hire industries, along with tailored guidance material, is available on the Key labour hire industries page.

A business generally only needs to supply one worker to a host to be a labour hire provider. There are some circumstances where supplying workers is not considered to be labour hire – for more information, visit Excluded classes of workers. 

The LHL Act covers work performed within Victoria, and arrangements made within Victoria for work performed outside of the state. This means that in order to operate legally in Victoria, a labour hire provider must be licensed.

Providers cannot advertise or provide workers until their licence application is approved and their licence is granted. Significant penalties apply.

Labour hire providers must:

• comply with their licence conditions
• comply with relevant laws
• provide annual reporting on labour hire activities
• notify LHA of certain changes
• ensure each relevant person continues to be a ‘fit and proper person’ and compliant with relevant laws
• ensure nominated officers are available to LHA.

Failing to comply with obligations may result in:

• penalties
• a licence being suspended
• a licence being cancelled
• conditions being imposed on the licence.

Complying with relevant laws

Providers must comply with a range of laws, including:

• workplace laws
• taxation laws
• superannuation laws
• occupational health and safety laws
• workers compensation laws
• labour hire industry laws
• migration laws
• transport laws
• applicable accommodation standards.

Annual reporting

Labour hire providers must report annually on their labour hire activities for the previous 12 months. This helps to improve transparency and integrity in the labour hire industry, and to support compliance monitoring.

For more information, please visit the Annual reporting page.

There are significant penalties for breaches of the LHL Act. For more information, please visit the Penalties page.

Providers can apply for and renew a licence via the Labour Hire Licensing Online portal.

Before applying, please visit the Apply for a labour hire licence page.

Before renewing, please visit the Renewing a labour hire licence page.

Providers must pay a licence application fee at application and licence renewal. Licence fees are also payable annually. For more information, please visit the Licence fees and costs.

The Labour Hire Authority has a team of inspectors whose role is to:

• promote
• monitor
• investigate
• enforce compliance with the LHL Act and regulations.

Where there are reasonable grounds, inspectors have the power to:

• require production of documents
• require provision of information
• enter and search premises
• examine and seize anything suspected of being connected with a possible contravention of the LHL Act or regulations
• 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.

The Labour Hire Authority works with other state and commonwealth agencies to protect the rights of labour hire workers in Victoria.

If you would like to report a problem to LHA, please visit the Report a problem page.

In addition, a person or organisation who has an interest in the protection of workers or the integrity of the labour hire industry – including providers and hosts – may object to a licence being issued or renewed. 

Objections can be made by clicking on ‘Raise an objection to this application’ next to the provider’s licence application on the Received Labour Hire Application public register.

Once their licence has been issued, all nominated officers will be automatically subscribed to receive our monthly newsletter via email.

For a list of useful resources regarding the Labour Hire Authority and the licensing scheme, please visit the Resources page.

• General definition of labour hire services
• Recruitment and placement services
• Contractor management services
• Key industries