In the latest prosecution under Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017:

• a corporate labour hire provider was fined $75,000 for operating without a licence;
• its sole director was fined $25,000 – with 180 days imprisonment in default of payment – for counselling, procuring or aiding the commission of the offence; and
• the client who was involved was fined $50,000 for entering into an arrangement with the unlicensed provider to be supplied with farmworkers.

You can read more details in the Regulator’s media release.

This “trifecta” of prosecutions, with all three involved parties receiving fines, confirms that suppliers and users of labour hire services cannot afford to disregard the licensing schemes that have now been established in three states.

Whilst the penalties may seem relatively modest, the black marks recorded against the provider and its director will have an adverse impact on their ability to obtain licences in other states and territories.

Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria have all passed labour-hire licensing legislation. The Australian Capital Territory may be the next to do so.

It is understood that the possibility of a national labour-hire licensing scheme is still being considered by the federal government.

Andrew C. Wood