Labour hire schemes may be Nationally ‘harmonised’

Industrial Relations Ministers across Australia have agreed to produce a model for uniform labour hire regulation, to be considered by the end of this year.

Labour hire providers, being businesses that provide workers to another host business, may currently be required to hold a license in compliance with schemes which differ across jurisdictions. There are currently labour hire schemes operating in four Australian jurisdictions: Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

The current South Australian labour hire scheme applies to labour hire providers that deal with horticulture, meat processing, seafood processing, cleaning and trolley collection. This is in comparison to the schemes in Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory that apply to the whole labour hire industry. Each scheme adopts a similar approach to core concepts but there are a number of areas where the schemes differ.

In an effort to create a more consistent application of rules that apply to labour hire providers a national harmonised model will be progressed.

The Federal Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has stated that the national model will need to combine the necessary features of each existing scheme, create a mechanism for mutual recognition of labour hire licences across jurisdictions, and reduce the burden placed on labour hire businesses to comply with schemes in different jurisdictions.

The creation of a harmonised labour hire model is in response to concerns of worker exploitation, black economy participation and complexity in the sector. To date, employers have expressed a preference for a harmonised scheme rather than continuing to operate with different schemes.

The Federal Government has indicated that if a harmonised model cannot be achieved in the timeframe set, it will progress a single national labour hire licensing scheme.

Labour hire providers and employers utilising labour hire, should keep across the proposals, which will be the subject of further discussion in the coming months.

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