SA Labour Hire – Service examples
| Example | Licence required |
|---|---|
| A sports club asks ABC Cleaning Pty Ltd (ABC) to provide cleaning staff for a large community sports event being held on their grounds. ABC agrees to supply 20 staff for five hours to perform general cleaning duties. ABC is engaged to supply suitably qualified and experienced cleaners to the sports club. The workers can be directed by the sports club in terms of what work is done and how. | Yes ABC Cleaning Pty Ltd provides workers, therefore is considered to be a labour hire provider. |
| ABC Cleaning Pty Ltd has entered into a contract with a local school to clean classrooms on a daily basis. The contract is for 12 months. ABC decides how many cleaners are needed to get the job done. | No ABC is providing a cleaning service to the school, not workers, therefore does not require a labour hire licence. |
| A hotel is preparing for an increase in accommodation bookings over Christmas and needs additional cleaners to cover this busy period. They approach ABC Cleaning Pty Ltd and request three cleaners for the two-week period over Christmas. | Yes ABC is providing a specific number of workers to the hotel to do work in and as part of the hotel’s business. |
| A grape grower asks Bob’s Picking Company to pick all the vines on his property by the end of next month. Bob decides how many people are needed to finish the picking in time. The grape grower and Bob agree on a price per each row of vines. | No Bob is providing a pruning service to the grower, not workers, therefore does not require a labour hire licence. It is irrelevant that the grape grower and Bob have agreed on a price per row. |
| A vegetable grower asks a backpacker lodge if they can supply workers to pick vegetables for an agreed rate. Once the vegetables are picked, the vegetable grower pays the backpacker lodge the agreed rate and the backpacker lodge then pays the workers directly. | Yes, The backpacker lodge owner is a labour hire provider, because the owner has an arrangement with the workers and will pay them and provides workers to the vegetable grower to do work in and as part of the grower’s business. |
| A grain grower asks Harvesting Company SA to arrange for all the grain to be harvested during the upcoming harvest season. Harvesting Company SA determines the best approach and how many workers are required and when. The grain grower will pay an agreed amount to Harvesting Company SA. | No, The harvesting company is providing a service to the grain grower for the grain harvesting, not workers. It is irrelevant how the cost of the service provided is calculated or how the workers’ pay rate is calculated. |
Subcontracting arrangements
| Example | Licence required |
| Shine Bright Cleaning Pty Ltd (Shine Bright) has an ongoing contract with Holiday Rentals Pty Ltd to clean their rental accommodation properties. Shine Bright chooses to subcontract some of the work out to Sharon’s cleaning business. There is no business relationship between Holiday Rentals and Sharon. Should any issues arise in relation to the cleaning work, Holiday Rentals will raise this with Shine Bright. | No Shine Bright does not need a licence as they have a contract to provide cleaning services to Holiday Rentals Pty Ltd, not workers. Sharon does not require a licence as Sharon operates her own independent cleaning business and has a genuine subcontracting arrangement with Shine Bright. Sharon may have multiple subcontracting arrangements with other cleaning businesses. |
Service examples – in-house employee
| Example | Licence required |
|---|---|
| Sam’s Seafood employs Mary to work in Sam’s seafood processing factory on a full-time basis. Mary has regular and ongoing work at Sam’s Seafood factory but on occasion, Sam sends Mary to help out at Pete’s Poultry processing factory. | No. Mary is employed on an ongoing basis by Sam’s Seafood and is only provided to help out at Pete’s Poultry factory on a temporary basis. It doesn’t matter if Mary is provided by Sam to Pete on more than one occasion because Mary is an employee of Sam’s and works for Sam on a regular and systematic basis, primarily at Sam’s Seafood factory. Mary also has a reasonable expectation that her employment with Sam will continue. |
Service examples – intermediary
| Example | Licence required |
|---|---|
| Sarah is a strawberry farmer and needs to have her strawberries picked. Sarah approaches Mike’s fruit picking business. Mike is a sole trader and due to the seasonal nature of fruit picking, Mike does not engage workers on an ongoing basis. Mike only needs extra people at peak times of the year. Mike approaches Bob’s Labour Hire to provide him with ten extra people. | Mike does not require a licence as he does not have a direct arrangement with the workers to supply or pay them. Mike’s arrangement is with Bob’s Labour Hire. Mike is an intermediary. Bob requires a licence as he has an arrangement with the workers to supply them to other businesses and pay them for the work. Bob is the labour hire provider. Sarah is a host and does not require a licence. |
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Disclaimer
The information in this post is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. It is not intended to express specific opinions about specific cases. Before acting on any of the issues discussed in this post, seek additional advice. The information provided should not be relied on for any purpose other than to assist you in understanding how Workers’ Compensation insurance works. It is for illustrative purposes only and My WorkCover Solutions Pty Ltd does not accept liability for any loss or damage suffered by any person resulting in any way from the use of or reliance on, the information provided. The information in this article is believed to be correct as of the date of publication. However, changes in the applicable laws may have an impact on the accuracy of the material. This article contains general information that is not tailored to any specific person’s situation. This publication may contain information that relates to the regulation of Workers’ Compensation insurance in your State or Territory. To ensure you comply with your legal obligations, we would recommend you refer to the appropriate legislation as currently in force in the State or Territory you conduct your business. You can find up-to-date legislation by visiting each state’s WorkCover Authority website, alternatively contact myWorkCover for updated information.
