SOUTH Australia has followed Queensland in announcing it will establish its own state-based scheme to crackdown on labour hire.

The scheme would make it unlawful to operate as a labour hire provider without a licence, and for employers to use unlicensed operators.

This follows Labor governments in Queensland and Victoria moving to regulate the labour hire industry.

The Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 has been introduced into Queensland Parliament referred to the Finance and Administration Committee for review with the Committee due to report by 24 July 2017.

The Victoria Government has responded to an independent inquiry it called  into the labour hire sector, and has signalled its intentions to introduce a new licensing scheme for labour hire providers in at least three sectors.

While legislation has yet to be produced, he South Australian measures will likely be similar to Queensland and could include:

• a ‘fit and proper person’ test for owners and directors
• annual reporting requirements
• a fee to partially fund compliance and enforcement
• significant penalties for employers that use unlicensed labour hire companies.

Resource sector regulation opposed by AREEA

AREEA has been actively engaged in the inquiry in Queensland, making a submission to the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 and appearing as a witness in the public hearings held by the Committee.

AREEA also made a submission to the inquiry into the practices of the labour hire industry in Queensland, in early 2016, and again writing to the Minister in late 2016, to highlight the outcomes of the Victorian inquiry and reiterate the high wages and compliance levels typical of the resources sector.

It has been AREEA’s position that labour hire is a legitimate business model in the resources sector and companies involved pay high wages and have high levels of compliance with their obligations to their employees. Licensing arrangements constitute unnecessary red tape and are a regulatory burden for business. Furthermore, licensing legitimate operators will not being effective in targeting those industries where worker exploitation has been demonstrated, who will continue to operate rouge.

AREEA will continue to closely monitor developments in relation to the use of labour hire as a business model at both the national and state level, and continue to argue that the experience of workers in the resources sector militates against unduly impacting labour hire businesses operating in the industry.

In addition, AREEA will continue to liaise directly with members to discuss the impact of labour hire licensing and next steps, particularly given the report from the Queensland Finance and Administration Committee is due shortly.

Members are invited to contact AREEA at [email protected] if they want further details about AREEA activities on this issue or to have your say.