Labour hire licensing Victoria: VLHA registration under the 2018 Act

What it is

Victoria runs a mandatory labour hire licensing scheme under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic). The Victorian Labour Hire Authority (VLHA) is the regulator. Any business that supplies workers to perform work for another person, in the course of conducting a business, generally needs a Victorian labour hire licence before it can operate or be engaged.

For residential builders, the scheme has two sides. If your subcontract chain includes a labour hire provider, that provider must hold a current licence. If your business supplies its own workers to other builders or developers, you are likely a provider yourself and must apply for one. Hosts that knowingly engage an unlicensed provider also commit an offence.

Who needs a licence

The Act captures a provider that supplies workers to another person to perform work, and the worker is paid by the provider. The definition is broad on purpose so labour-only subcontracting that looks and acts like labour hire is not allowed to sit outside the scheme.

Some arrangements are excluded by regulation, including secondments inside a corporate group and certain genuine subcontract-of-services models where the subcontractor controls the work. The VLHA publishes guidance on the line between subcontracting and labour hire so providers can self-assess before applying.

Common residential triggers

• A trade business that places its own employees on other builders sites under that builders direction
• A workforce hire business that supplies carpenters, labourers or apprentices on a per-hour or per-day basis
• A group training organisation supplying host employers with apprentices for residential work

Application and fit and proper person test

Applications are made through the Labour Hire Licensing Online (LHLO) portal. The applicant and each relevant person (directors, partners and controllers of the business) must satisfy the fit and proper person test under section 22 of the Act. The VLHA assesses recent conduct under workplace, tax, migration, work health and safety and labour hire laws across Australia.

Applicants must also disclose business structures, key personnel, host relationships and compliance history. False or misleading information is itself an offence under the Act.

Fees and term

Application fees and annual licence fees are tiered by the applicants previous four quarters of turnover and indexed against the Monetary Units Act 2004 (Vic) each 1 July. A successful licence is granted for up to three years. The VLHA sends an annual fee notice through the LHLO portal six weeks before each anniversary, and non-payment can lead to cancellation. See the VLHA fee schedule at labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/provider/licence-fees-and-costs for current figures.

Conditions and ongoing obligations

A Victorian labour hire licence is not a paper qualification. Holders must comply with conditions in section 30 of the Act and any conditions placed on the licence by the VLHA. Core obligations include keeping accurate worker, host and pay records, reporting any change in relevant person or business structure, and lodging an annual report when fees are paid.

Compliance officers can inspect premises, audit records and issue compliance notices. Cancellations and suspensions are published on the public register so hosts can check provider status in real time.

Using a labour hire provider as a builder

Engaging an unlicensed provider is an offence under section 14 of the Act. Penalties for individuals and corporations are substantial and indexed to penalty units. Before signing a labour hire contract, residential builders should:

• Search the VLHA public register by ABN or licence number
• Record the licence number and expiry on the purchase order or subcontract
• Refresh the search before each new engagement or at minimum every 12 months
• Treat any suspension or cancellation notice as a stop-work trigger for that supplier

The register defence in section 21 of the Act protects hosts who, at the time of engagement, checked the register and reasonably believed the provider was licensed.

Penalties and enforcement

Section 13 makes it an offence to provide labour hire services without a licence. Section 14 makes it an offence for a host to enter into an arrangement with an unlicensed provider. The Act also creates offences for avoidance arrangements, false advertising and obstruction of inspectors.

Builders running a single-entity payroll for their own employees do not need a licence for that work. The risk sits at the boundary where a connected entity, a service trust or a labour-only subcontract supplies workers to the head contractor or to clients. That structure should be reviewed against the VLHA guidance before any new engagement.

How this affects residential builders

The practical playbook is short. Decide whether your structure makes you a provider, a host or both. If you are a provider, apply early because the fit and proper assessment can take weeks. If you are a host, build a register check into your subcontractor onboarding so a lapsed licence cannot reach site without being flagged.