Glossary

A.

1. Applicant

   The applicant for a labour hire licence is the natural person or organisation that will become the licensee if the application is successful.

   If a natural person, such as a sole trader, is applying the natural person is the applicant and must complete the application.

   If the application is being made on behalf of an unincorporated organisation, such as a partnership or unincorporated association, the application is made jointly by the natural persons conducting the business, but the applicant is taken to be the organisation. A nominated officer of the organisation must complete the application.

   If the application is being made on behalf of a body corporate, such as a proprietary limited company, the applicant is the incorporated organisation and a nominated officer must complete the application form. Note that ‘officer’ in the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.) is defined to mean, in relation to a body corporate:

   any person (by whatever name called) who-

   • is a director or secretary of the body corporate; or
   • makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business of the body corporate.

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B.

1. Body corporate

   Body corporate is a general term referring to any incorporated legal entity created and recognised by the law, for example, a corporation or an incorporated association.

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C.

1. Civil proceeding

   A civil proceeding is a proceeding in a court other than a criminal proceeding, or a quasi-criminal proceeding (such as a contempt proceeding). In Victoria, section 4(2) of the Civil Procedure Act 2010(Vic.) lists the Acts to which it does not apply. The Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic.) does not apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Civil proceedings in other jurisdictions are subject to their own rules and legislation, for example the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). Note that both Federal and State jurisdictions have their own court hierarchies for hearing proceedings, although there is also some sharing and crossover between the two jurisdictions.

2. Criminal proceeding

   In Victoria, a criminal proceeding is any proceeding to which the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic.) applies, and includes committal, bail and sentencing proceedings. For more information about criminal proceedings in criminal courts in all Australian jurisdictions, including the types of offences and crimes that they deal with, visit the Australian Institute of Criminology website.

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D.

1. Deed of agreement

   A deed of agreement is a legally binding promise to do, or to refrain from doing, something. A deed may also pass an interest, a right or property. Deeds are in writing, and are usually required to be signed, sealed and delivered. However, the requirements for a deed can vary, depending on the type of deed or the relevant legislation.

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E.

1. Entity type

   Applicants for a labour hire services licence must choose either the pathway for individuals or the pathway for organisations. The following definitions will assist applicants to know which is the appropriate pathway for their application.

   Individual

   A sole trader (also known as an individual) is an individual operating as the sole person legally responsible for all aspects of the business. Nothing is required to establish a sole trader business, but sole traders must have an ABN and comply with other relevant laws, such as registering for GST, if required.

   Organisations – incorporated

   When an entity is ‘incorporated’ it is treated as a legal person, a body corporate, separate and distinct from its owners. An incorporated entity can sue, and be sued in its own name, hold property and enter into contracts. The most common type of incorporated entity is a company, also called a corporation. Corporations may be further divided into proprietary companies and public companies. Here is more information about incorporated entities:

   • Proprietary company: a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as a proprietary company. A very common type of company in this category is a proprietary company limited by shares - companies of this type will have ‘Pty Ltd’ after their name.
   • Public company: a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as a public company. Public companies can raise funds from the public and may be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
   • Incorporated association: a group of two or more persons who come together to pursue a common aim who agree to be bound by the rules of the organisation, which because it is incorporated has a separate legal existence from the members of the organisation. Common examples are clubs and community groups. In Victoria, associations can apply to be incorporated and registered as incorporated associations under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic.), but not all associations choose to incorporate.
   • Incorporated co-operative: a co-operative is a democratic organisation that is owned and controlled by its members. A co-operative is incorporated by registering the organisation under the Cooperatives National Law, applied in Victoria by the Co-operative National Law Application Act 2013 (Vic.). For more information about co-operatives in Victoria, including access to its register, visit the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.
   • Corporations formed by Royal Charter: many incorporated entities existing today were created by Royal Charter, granting the entity a separate legal identity.
   • Corporations created by a special Act of Parliament: some statutory corporations and educational institutions are created by a special statute.
   • Corporations sole: a series of holders of a single office, a corporation consisting of only one person, for example the Queen or a Bishop. (This is a relatively rare structure.)
     
     

   Organisations – unincorporated

   Unincorporated organisations do not have a separate legal identity, and so the business is generally seen as being carried on by the persons involved in the business.

   • Partnerships: a partnership is the relationship between persons who carry on a business in common, with a view to making profits. A partnership does not exist separately from the partners themselves, therefore profit and loss is shared between the partners. A limited partnership is a restricted type of partnership. Partnership in Victoria is subject to the rules of equity and common law except where they are inconsistent with the express provisions of the Partnership Act 1958 (Vic.)
   • Unincorporated joint ventures: participants in an unincorporated joint venture enter into a contractual relationship to pursue together a specific activity without forming a separate legal entity.  What each participant owns is called the ‘participating interest’, which comprises both property rights and contractual rights. This kind of structure is common in the mining and construction industries.
   • Syndicates: persons working together for a common purpose, often for the purpose of pooling capital to invest in assets, such as property. Syndicates may also meet the requirements to be classified as a partnership in some circumstances.
   • Trusts: a trust is the relationship between a trustee and beneficiaries in respect of trust property. A trust arises when the settlor, the creator of the trust, gives property to the trustee to hold or invest on behalf of the beneficiaries. The trustee is bound by fiduciary obligations.
   • Unincorporated associations: a group of two or more persons who come together to pursue a common aim who agree to be bound by the rules of the organisation. Because the association is unincorporated it does not have a separate legal existence from the members of the organisation.
     
     

2. External administration under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

   External administration of a company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) usually occurs when a company is in financial difficulty, and an ‘external administrator’ is appointed. Forms of external administration include voluntary administration, receivership and liquidation. 

   For more general information about external administration, visit the ASIC website.

3. Enforceable undertaking

   An enforceable undertaking is a binding promise made by a regulated person to a regulator, or by a person to a court, to either take or not take certain actions. Some regulatory schemes allow a regulator to accept an enforceable undertaking as an alternative to other types of sanctions such as prosecution.

   See Undertaking.

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I.

1. Indictment

   An indictment is a formal statement or accusation of an indictable offence.

2. Indictable offence against the person

   In Victoria, whether an offence is indictable depends on the penalty prescribed: see section 112 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic.) All offences under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.) are deemed to be indictable offences, unless otherwise indicated. Indictable offences against the person include, but are not limited to:

   • homicide
   • rape, sexual assault and associated sexual offences
   • offences involving sexual servitude
   • sexual offences against children and against persons with a cognitive impairment or mental illness
   • offences concerning child abuse material
   • administering certain substances
   • assault
   • conduct endangering life or persons
   • extortion with threat to kill or to destroy property
   • stalking.

   If you are unsure about whether a relevant person has been found guilty of an indictable offence against the person, you should declare the offence in the application or seek legal advice.

3. Insolvency

   People or companies that are unable to pay all their debts as and when they fall due are insolvent. A person who is insolvent may enter bankruptcy; a company which is insolvent may go into liquidation, which is also known as being wound up. For more information about types of insolvency, visit the ASIC website.

   For the purposes of declaring information in the labour hire licensing application, relevant persons should declare any personal bankruptcies as well as any instances in which the person was an officer of an insolvent body corporate or other organisation.

4. Interested person

   An interested person under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.) is a person or organisation who has an interest in the protection of workers or the integrity of the labour hire industry. This could include, for example, a local council, a worker union, an industry peak body, a worker, a host or another labour hire provider.

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L.

1. Labour hire industry law

   Labour hire industry law is defined in section 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.). It means the following:

   • the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.)
   • a provision of an Act or law of Victoria, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory imposing an obligation on a person in relation to labour hire (however described)

   and includes regulations or instruments made under such an Act or provision.

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M.

1. Meat manufacturing establishment

   A meat manufacturing establishment is defined in clause 5(3) of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic.) to mean ‘an establishment wholly or predominantly concerned with the manufacturing or processing of fresh meat into any form of edible manufactured or processed meat, meat products, smallgoods, ham, bacon, or similar products in which meat is a substantial ingredient, including any related activities such as retail or wholesale sales, and killing, dressing, boning, slicing, preparation and packing of fresh meat, where such activities are conducted at any place as an ancillary part of the manufacturing or processing business’.

2. Meat processing establishment

   A meat processing establishment is defined in clause 5(3) of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic.) to mean ‘an establishment wholly or predominantly concerned with killing, dressing, boning, slicing, preparation or packing fresh meat, and includes any related activities conducted at any place as an ancillary part of such a business, such as manufacturing or processing meat, the treatment and processing of skins or hides, rendering, processing of by-product, and retail or wholesale sales’.

3. Minimum accommodation standards

   Minimum accommodation standards are defined in section 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.).These are standards of accommodation required by or under any of the following:

   • the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic.)
   • the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic.)
   • the Rooming House Operators Act 2016 (Vic.)
   • the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic.)
   • the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic.)
   • a prescribed provision of a law of Victoria, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory
   • prescribed accommodation standards (however described)

   to the extent that those standards relate to accommodation for workers and include standards of accommodation required by or under regulations or instruments made under an Act or provision referred to in any of the above paragraphs.

   For more information, see the Accommodation section of this website.

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N.

1. Nominated officer

   Under section 17(3) of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.) a nominated officer must be a natural person who is responsible for the day-to-day conducting of the business to which the licence relates; and satisfies any requirements prescribed by the regulations. Note that the Regulations may be amended from time to time. Licence applications must include the full name, position description and contact details of all nominated officers for the licence. Nominated officers are required to be reasonably available to the Authority regarding the labour hire licence.

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O.

1. Objection

   Under section 32 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.), an ‘interested person’ (see above), may make an objection to an application for a licence, or to an application for renewal of a licence. To be a valid objection, the objection must:

   • be in writing (this includes by lodging an objection electronically through the Labour Hire Authority’s website)
   • state the grounds of the objection, which must be either:
     • that one or more of the relevant persons in relation to an application is not a ‘fit and proper’ person or
     • that the applicant does not, or will not comply with the legal obligations referred to in section 23 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.)
   • state reasons for the objection; and
   • be made within 14 days of the application being published on the Applications Received Register.
     
     

2. Offences involving fraud, dishonesty or drug trafficking

   A number of offences of this kind are indictable offences under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.), for example ‘False accounting’ and ‘Falsification of documents’.  Other offences relevant to the fit and proper person test in the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.) are also contained in separate legislation. For example, ‘Possession of substance, material, documents or equipment for trafficking in a drug of dependence’ and ‘Permitting use of premises for trafficking or cultivation of a drug of dependence’ are indictable offences under the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic).

3. Officer

   Officer in relation to a body corporate is defined in section 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic). It means any person (by whatever name called) who–

   1. is a director or secretary of the body corporate’ or
   2. makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business of the body corporate.

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P.

1. Poultry processing establishment

   A poultry processing establishment is defined in clause 5(3) of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic.) to mean ‘a place wholly or predominantly concerned with the killing, processing, preparation or packing of uncooked poultry, poultry products or poultry by-products, which takes place in connection with a business or undertaking’.

2. Procure or provide (accommodation and/or transport)

   The application form requests information about accommodation or transport that may have been or is intended to be ‘procured or provided’ by the Applicant. These words take their ordinary meaning in the context of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.): that is, the Authority wants to know about transport and accommodation that the applicant has or will take steps to obtain, or to supply.

3. Proof of Identity

   Refer to Proof of Identity page for definition.

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R.

1. Relevant person

   ‘Relevant person’ in relation to an application for a licence or a licence in force is defined in section 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.). The definition includes a number of classes of person but the nominated officer completing an application will always be a relevant person as defined. Relevant person is defined in section 3 as follows:

   relevant person,in relation to an application for or in respect of a licence, or in relation to a licence that is in force, as the case requires, means the following persons—

   (a) the applicant, or the holder of the licence, as the case requires;

   (b) if the applicant, or the holder of the licence, is a body corporate, each officer of the body corporate;

   (c) if the applicant, or the holder of the licence, is a natural person, each person who makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business conducted by the natural person that provides or is to provide labour hire services;

   (d) each proposed nominated officer, or nominated officer, for the licence.

   Relevant persons in a partnership

   For organisations that are structured as a partnership, pursuant to clause 7(d) of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic.), the applicant is required to provide proof of identity documents for the following persons, as applicable for the partnership:

   (i) each member of the Board; or

   (ii) each member of the executive committee; or

   (iii) each senior partner; or

   (iv) if subparagraphs (i) to (iii) do not apply to the partnership, each partner.

   This provision has the effect of further defining who is considered to be a ‘relevant person’ in a partnership. If you are making an application on behalf of a partnership, you should determine which management arrangement, starting with (i) and working through to (iv), best matches your partnership arrangements and include the members of that management structure as relevant persons in the application.

   Relevant persons in an unincorporated association

   For organisations that are structured as unincorporated associations, each member of the association is required to provide proof of identity documents pursuant to clause 7(c)(iii) of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations (Vic.) and is considered a relevant person. Therefore, if you are making an application on behalf of an unincorporated association, each member will need to be included as a relevant person in the application.

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S.

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T.

1. Turnover

   Turnover is defined in clause 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 (Vic.). Turnover means the total ordinary income that is derived in the course of running a business. This amount does not include GST.

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U.

1. Undertaking

   In the context of a “business or undertaking”, “undertaking” is a broad term encompassing all forms of modern working arrangements, whether or not conducted as part of a business.

   See also: Enforceable Undertaking

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W.

1. Workplace law

   Workplace law is defined in section 3 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic.):

   workplace law means the following—

   (a) a provision of a law of Victoria, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory that imposes an obligation on a person in relation to employees or contractors (however described), including but not limited to, the following—

   (i) the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic.);

   (ii) the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic.);

   (iii) the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic.);

   (iv) the Long Service Leave Act 1992 (Vic.);

   (v) the Child Employment Act 2003(Vic.);

   (vi) the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 (Vic.);

   (vii) the Outworkers (Improved Protection) Act 2003 (Vic.);

   (viii) the Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic.);

   (ix) the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 (Vic.);

   (x) the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic.);

   (xi) the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth);

   (xii) the Independent Contractors Act 2006 (Cth);

   (xiii) the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth);

   (xiv) the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth);

   (b) a provision of a law of Victoria, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory imposing an obligation in relation to transport, to the extent that the law or provision relates to the transport of workers—

   and includes regulations or instruments made under such an Act or provision.

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