Legislation Changes for Queensland Labour Hire Industry

Does your organisation use or provide labour hire in Queensland?

 

If so, some changes are coming your way, as a mandatory labour hire licensing scheme is due to come into force in April this year.

 

The Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 has been established in order to protect labour hire workers from exploitation and mistreatment, and to promote ethical and responsible operations by labour hire organisations.  Key features of the Act will include the following:

• Labour hire providers will be required to be licensed to operate in Queensland
• Labour hire licensees will be required to pass a “fit and proper person” test, in order to ensure that they are capable of complying with the relevant laws
• Licensees will be required to provide regular reports on their operations
• Labour hire organisations will be required to be financially viable
• Persons and organisations will be prohibited from engaging unlicensed labour hire providers.

 

The Act will also include the establishment of a labour hire licensing field services inspectorate, in order to increase awareness and to conduct monitoring and enforcement.

 

The Act will commence on 16 April 2018, so if you use or provide labour hire, mark it in your diary.  Labour hire providers will have 60 days to apply for their licences, and the obligations and penalties of the Act will not apply until the licence has been granted, if the application is made within the 60-day period.  Providers will be able to apply for licences and complete required reporting online.  A public register of licensed labour hire providers will also be established online, to allow labour hire users to check that providers are licensed.

 

The Queensland Government will establish a website to assist in navigating the new requirements, and regular updates will be provided.  To receive updates directly, send an email with your request to labourhirereg@oir.qld.gov.au.  We’ll update this post with links once the website and register have been established.

 

The Labour Hire Licensing Act and associated scheme are expected to have positive flow-on effects for other aspects of work, such as employer-employee relationships and workplace health and safety, and to improve integrity and outcomes in the industry in general.  Our clients are recommended to consider appropriate licensing as a requirement on all external providers, not just labour hire companies, and to consider the possibility of risk to their organisations from engaging unlicensed providers.

 

For more information, see the Queensland Government’s general information and FAQs.