One worker, two businesses, three bodies of law
The labour hire company employs the worker and pays them. The host business is where the work is done, and it shares the safety duty. In some places the company must hold a licence, and only a licensed provider may be used.
General information about Australian labour hire law as at October 2026, not legal or employment advice.
- Question 1: Who employs a labour hire worker, and who pays them?
- Question 2: Does a labour hire company need a licence?
- Question 3: Can a business use an unlicensed labour hire provider?
- Question 4: How do I check a labour hire company’s licence?
- Question 5: Who is responsible for a labour hire worker’s safety?
- Question 6: What is a “same job, same pay” order?
The four dates on the tabs come from each jurisdiction’s own licensing regulator; NSW’s answer is from nsw.gov.au, and the WA, TAS and NT position is the Commonwealth department’s, as at March 2023.
The dashed line beside the worker is the same pay line: when an order applies, the pay must be at least the rate the host’s workplace instrument gives its own employees.
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The four licensing schemes
| Began | Who must be licensed | Where to check a licence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Labour Hire Licensing Queensland: all providers must be licensed, under a scheme that began on 16 April 2018. | Queensland: all labour hire providers operating in the state, including providers based interstate or overseas. | Queensland’s register of licensed labour hire providers lets a user check whether a provider is licensed or find a licensed one. |
| Victoria | The Labour Hire Authority: a provider has to hold a licence, and a host can engage only a licensed provider; the scheme began on 29 April 2019. | Victoria: a business with an arrangement wholly or principally for the supply of labour, and a single worker supplied to a host can be enough. | Victoria’s register lists all licensed labour hire providers in the state. |
| South Australia | Consumer and Business Services: all industries from 29 January 2026, with a six-month grace period to 29 July 2026. | South Australia: “You’ll need a licence if” the business provides workers directly to a host, or indirectly through one or more agents or intermediaries, to carry out work as part of the host’s business or commercial undertaking. | South Australia’s page points hosts to the licensed labour hire provider register to make sure they are using a licensed provider. |
| Australian Capital Territory | WorkSafe ACT: the licensing scheme began on 27 May 2021. | ACT: a provider is covered if it is based in the ACT, hires out labour beyond it, or is based elsewhere and supplies labour into the ACT. | The ACT’s public register sits on the WorkSafe ACT website, and the release that marks its start says the register lets businesses, workers and the community verify a licence’s details. |
The NSW Government: there is currently no licensing scheme in New South Wales. WA, TAS and NT: no specific labour hire regulation, as at March 2023 (Commonwealth department consultation paper).
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