Do I Need a Labour Hire Licence? (2026 State Guide)

Do I need a labour hire licence? If you supply workers to another business and pay those workers, you need a licence in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. Hosts there must only use licensed providers. New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory had no labour hire licensing scheme as at October 2026.

The rules moved fast in 2026: South Australia extended licensing to all industries, and Victoria toughened its fit and proper tests and redefined labour hire. This guide sets out who needs a licence, what it costs and how hosts check the register. General information, not legal advice. Check the regulator in each state you operate in.

Which states require a labour hire licence?

The NSW Government's labour hire regulation update confirms there is currently no licensing scheme in NSW and that the state is working with the Commonwealth and other states on a nationally consistent framework. A NSW-based provider that sends workers across the border to Albury-Wodonga, Mildura or the Gold Coast still needs the Victorian or Queensland licence for that work.

Who needs a labour hire licence?

In broad terms, you are a labour hire provider if you supply one or more workers to another business (the host) to do work in or for that business, and you are responsible for paying those workers. That commonly includes:

• Labour hire agencies placing casual labourers, traffic controllers, cleaners, pickers or warehouse staff with hosts.
• Recruitment firms that place workers on their own payroll and on-hire them.
• Contractors that on-supply their own employees to work under a host's direction, rather than delivering a defined service.
• Intermediaries in a supply chain. Since 1 October 2026, Victoria's definition focuses on whether an arrangement has the character of labour supply, so "bare intermediary" companies that on-supply workers employed by others need a licence.

Individual workers who are supplied do not need a licence. Some arrangements, such as certain group training and in-house employment, may be exempt or treated differently depending on the state, so check the regulator's eligibility guidance.

Worked example: same business, two states

A traffic management company based in Newcastle supplies its employed traffic controllers to civil contractors. On a roadworks job in Maitland, no labour hire licence is needed because NSW has no scheme, although Fair Work, WHS and workers compensation laws all apply. When the same company sends a crew to a contractor in Geelong, it needs a Victorian labour hire licence if the arrangement has the character of labour supply, and the Geelong contractor must check the register before the crew starts. If the company instead quotes and delivers a complete traffic management service with its own supervision, plans and equipment, the arrangement may look more like a service contract than labour supply. That distinction is exactly what the 2026 Victorian definition is designed to test, so get advice before relying on it.

What changed in 2026?

• Victoria, 1 June 2026: a stronger fit and proper person test for decision-makers and anyone controlling or substantially influencing the business, a broader compliance history assessment and a financial viability declaration. Standard conditions in high-risk industries include restrictions on cash payments.
• Victoria, 1 October 2026: the new supply-chain definition took effect. The Labour Hire Authority says further regulations, anticipated in late October 2026, are expected to treat traffic management, site security, concreting and crane operating on Victorian Government-funded construction projects over $50 million as labour hire.
• South Australia: licensing previously applied only to horticulture, meat and seafood processing, cleaning and trolley collection. It now covers all labour hire providers, with the transition period ending on 29 July 2026.

Victorian maximum penalties per breach exceed $660,000 for a company and $160,000 for an individual, for both unlicensed providers and hosts using them.

How much does a labour hire licence cost?

Victorian licences are granted for up to three years and fees are indexed each 1 July. Budget also for the compliance work: payroll, super, WHS systems, accommodation standards where relevant, and annual reporting.

How do hosts check the labour hire licence register?

Each scheme has a public register. Queensland's guidance for users of labour hire says hosts must only use licensed providers, cannot use a provider that has merely applied, and commit an offence if they enter an avoidance arrangement designed to dodge licensing.

1. Search the register (Victoria, Queensland, South Australia or ACT) by business name or ABN.
2. Check the licence is current, not suspended or cancelled, and covers the right entity.
3. Save a screenshot or extract with the date for your records.
4. Recheck before each new engagement and at renewal dates.

Fair Work rules sit on top of state licensing. Under the federal "same job, same pay" laws, the Fair Work Commission can make regulated labour hire arrangement orders requiring labour hire employees to be paid at least the host's enterprise agreement rates. Hosts can also be liable as accessories if they know a provider is underpaying. Our labour hire compliance guide covers the wider checklist.

Where do hiring marketplaces fit?

Whether any arrangement is labour hire depends on the state definition and the facts, including who directs the work, who engages the worker and who is responsible for paying them. Yakka Labour's model is that the hirer and worker agree the engagement directly, and Yakka is not the employer or a labour hire agency. Yakka Labour is the hiring marketplace, not the workwear brand with a similar name.

If your own business takes workers found anywhere and on-supplies them to clients, you may be a labour hire provider and need your own licence in those states. Get advice from the regulator or a workplace lawyer before you start. For the commercial comparison, see labour hire vs recruitment agency and how much labour hire costs.

How to hire workers directly on Yakka

1. Post the job with the suburb, start time, tickets required and the AUD rate.
2. Review profiles, message applicants and agree the rate in writing.
3. Engage the worker under the arrangement that fits, such as casual employment, and meet your own payroll, super and workers compensation obligations.
4. Pay through the platform, with no agency margin added to wages.

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