Queensland: (at one time leading the race) has passed the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017, which is due to start on 16 April 2016. However, it stalled when the State went to the polls on 25 November.

Meanwhile South Australia has passed its Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, which mostly mirrors the Queensland legislation. But it will get a start as early as 1 March 2018.

Victoria has produced a Bill that is yet to be debated; and the A.C.T  is holding an inqiury that might lead to a labour hire licensing scheme.

The federal government doesn’t look like doing anything; but might find its hand forced by the prospect of four jurisdictions moving to implement broadly similar, but inconsistent,  laws that will affect the supply of labour-hire services to federal bodies and which have the potential to disrupt the balance of workplace relations achieved under the Fair Work Act. 

The following is a list of posts of some of my preliminary views and commentary.

Mind Your Language! What a pity that the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, which was introduced to Queensland Parliament today, advances core definitions that seem to be inconsistent with the ILO’s foundational principle that “labour is not a commodity”more…

Labour Hire Licensing Bill Casts a Very Wide Net. Given the broad definitions of provider and labour hire services set out in Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, introduced into Parliament on 25 May 2017, it will be interesting to see the extent to which common service entity arrangements for professional firms and corporate groups will be affected. more…

Compulsory Insurance and Bonds Possible Under Qld’s New Labour Hire Licensing Bill. Clause 29 of Queensland’s new Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, introduced into Parliament on 25 May 2017, will allow the Chief Executive to impose conditions on a licence for any reasons and in any circumstances that the Chief Executive considers appropriate. more…

The Interstate Reach of Queensland’s New Labour Hire Licensing Bill. Maybe it’s just because State of Origin season is almost upon us again; but whatever the reason, it’s worth taking note of the interstate reach provisions of Queensland’s New Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, because being a cockroach (Queenslanders will know what I’m talking about) won’t help you. That’s because clause 5 of the Bill provides that the new laws will apply outside Queensland “to the full extent of the extraterritorial legislative power of the Parliament”. more…

Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill: Holes in the Net? A more in depth look at the approach and coverage of the Bill in which I suggest that the drafting of the Bill does not match its intent. more…

10 reasons why Queensland’s new Labour Hire Licensing Bill will struggle to meet its admirable objectives. As the title explains.

Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017: What about the conditions? Anyone interested in how Queensland’s new Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 will affect the labour hire industry, would do well to call for some frank and open discussion about the conditions, which the Queensland government intends to impose on license holders. That’s because the only thing standing in the way of a radical overhaul of the labour hire industry is the chief executive’s discretion concerning what those conditions will be. And we have not yet heard much about it. more…

Lessons for Labour Hire Providers: JP Property Services Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (2017).  Queensland has passed, and South Australia is considering, labour hire licensing laws that apply to labour hire providers, who supply workers to another person to perform work. Neither the Queensland nor the South Australian legislation develops the notion of what it means to “supply a worker”. That notion remains problematic because workers are not mere commodities that can be supplied in any ordinary sense of the word. What has been missing from the legislative developments in Queensland and South Australia has been a detailed legal analysis of the rights that are exercised; the obligations that are triggered; and the effects that are created whenever a so-called “supply” takes place. In this article, I draw on some of the legal analysis that has taken place when courts have tried to give meaning to similar expressions contained within payroll tax legislation. more…

Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (Qld): Application to incorporated independent contractors. With Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 set to commence on 16^th April 2018, it would be worthwhile for agencies, who on-hire incorporated independent contractors, to review their contractor arrangements to see how they might be affected.  more…

Proposed amendments to South Australia’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 bring some clarity to intended coverage… at last. But it’s not all good!  It is encouraging to see the penny starting to drop, with notice of some recent amendments to South Australia’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 filed in Parliament last week. The amendments revise the definition of labour hire services provider by emphasising that a supply occurs, where the worker performs the work in the third person’s [client’s] business. more…

Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Proposal: Any hope of an even playing field? Not much. Victoria is the next cab off the rank with labour hire licensing. And there’s not much time to get submissions in before 6 December. Much of what is described in the consultation paper follows the now familiar pattern in Queensland and South Australia more …

Victoria Introduces its Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017…and cracks are starting to show. Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, introduced into State Parliament on 13 December, is the third labour hire licensing scheme introduced this year as part of a labor State push to establish a common pattern of labour hire licensing regulation. South Australia’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 is set to commence on 1 March 2018. Queensland’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 is set to commence on 16 April 2018. Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, if it is passed, has a proposed commencement date of no later than 1 November 2019, but may be proclaimed earlier. Despite hopes of establishing a common scheme, cracks are starting to show. more…

Labour Hire Licensing Scheme Comparisons: What I learn from having conversations with my dog. OK. I admit it. Call me strange, if you must. Yes, I do enjoy the work of detailed comparative legal analysis – not just because it’s like solving puzzles and finding nuances in the pattern; but because once you’ve really got the pattern, you can do something with it, You can decide what needs tweaking – and how to tweak it to best effect. more…

Will your outsourced payroll arrangements alter your requirements to have a labour hire license? Probably not. As attempts by Australia’s labor states to create a multi-jurisdiction, labour hire licensing scheme gain critical mass, it is becoming more important, and perhaps a little easier, to make comparisons and ask questions at a practical level rather than merely at a policy or ideological level. One such question, which seems to be causing concern amongst industry participants, relates to the involvement of payroll providers in labour hire arrangements. Kudos, therefore, to the industry participants, who have appreciated the detail and complexity of the legislation well enough to formulate the following question: more…

Qld Treasury Consultation Papers on Regulations to Support Labour Hire Licensing Act: Quick Observations Queensland Treasury has just released two consultation papers on the regulations to support that State’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017. One paper deals with operational issues (including the fit and proper person test and reporting); the other is about coverage and exclusions. more…