Queensland Labour Hire Licensing Regulation Now In Force

Thursday 19 April 2018 @ 10.35 a.m. | Industrial Law | Legal Research

Queensland’s new Labour Hire Licensing Regulation 2018 (Qld) (SR 35 of 2018) is now in force, having fully commenced on 16 April 2018.

Background

The aim of the regulation seeks to further the purpose of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (the “Act”) by providing limited treatment to identify when a worker is not a labour hire worker for the Act. The provisions in the Regulation seek to maintain the broad application of the Act to all industry sectors and occupations, while ensuring that arrangements that are not commonly understood to be labour hire are not captured.

Aim of the Legislation

The mandatory labour hire licensing scheme is designed to protect workers, users and providers of labour hire services from exploitation and ensure the integrity of the labour hire industry in Queensland.

This process will include satisfying a “fit and proper person test” to establish they are capable of:

  • providing labour hire services in compliance with relevant laws;
  • paying a license fee;
  • proving their business financial viability; and
  • regular reporting of operations.

Strong penalties will apply for breach of obligations. The scheme will also establish a labour hire licensing compliance unit with a field services inspectorate with responsibility for awareness, monitoring and enforcement functions.

Users of labour hire services and workers will be able to understand their rights and obligations, check if a provider is licensed, lodge complaints and view compliance reports online.

Release of Government Issues Paper

An Issues Paper (the “Paper”) was released during 2016 reflecting the Queensland Government’s concern about the ongoing evidence of exploitation and mistreatment of labour hire workers and the practices of labour hire companies, with the Paper’s purpose:

“… designed to provide further detail of the Government’s current thinking and to seek the views of stakeholders on the regulation of the labour hire industry in Queensland and, in particular, the necessary components of a rigorous business licensing scheme and other measures to address the exploitation of labour hire workers and restore confidence in the industry …  Regulation of the labour hire industry through rigorous licensing, monitoring, and information and referral services is anticipated to promote greater transparency and scrutiny of labour hire operators, give confidence to those businesses who use the services of labour hire providers and raise the standard of integrity and professional conduct across the industry.”

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Sources:

Labour Hire Licensing Regulation 2018 (Qld) – Regulation and supporting information available from TimeBase's LawOne Service

Regulation of the Labour Hire Industry 2016 – Issues Paper – Accessed 19 April 2018

Regulation of the labour hire industry in Queensland – Queensland Government – Accessed 19 April 2018

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