I’ve said I’m excited at being invited to present WorkAccord’s Up-close & Personal masterclass and advanced workshop series on the Victorian labour hire licensing scheme. 

That’s because we’re finally going to get a chance to attack some of the harder questions, as we discover where cracks are likely to be found – and how to plan for them.

Here’s just a few:

• What does it really mean to “supply a worker”?
• When does a worker work “in and as part of the business or undertaking” of a host?
• Is this a different test from the integration test formulated by the Federal Court in On Call Interpreters and Translators Agency Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (No 3) [2011] FCA 366?
• If not, will it ever be possible to “supply” an independent contractor within the meaning of s. 7 of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic)?
• Is the on-hire of independent contractors dealt with under some other provision of the Act?
• What happens if the worker is incorporated?
• What is the nature of the s.9 “obligation” to pay a worker for the performance of the work?
• Does anyone have such an “obligation” if the individual receives payment on some other basis – e.g. a directors fees for working in their own company, or as the beneficiary of a discretionary trust with an incorporated trustee?
• How does all this play out in labour contracting chains and service networks?

These aren’t the sort of questions that can be addressed in a brief overview. They’re questions that need to be asked, notwithstanding comments about “clever lawyers” (as though that’s a bad thing) that I heard made when I attended the public briefings.

So, that’s why we’re having a masterclass.

And that’s why I’m excited.

I hope to see you there!

Andrew C. Wood