Protect your business and your workers

About the author: The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) protects Victorian workers from exploitation by hosts and providers of labour hire services, and works to improve the transparency and integrity of the labour hire industry. 

Note: This article is written specifically for businesses in Victoria that use labour hire providers to supply workers; however, similar legislation applies in Queensland and South Australia. 

Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority is calling on fruit growers to do their part in tackling unlawful labour hire practices that are harming the industry and putting businesses at risk. 

Actions for growers 

• Have a clear understanding of who is supplying labour to your business and under what arrangements. 
• Check a provider’s licence on the Labour Hire Licence Register and use the Follow My Providers tool to receive licence status updates. 
• Be alert to warning signs of licence fraud or illegal phoenix activity, including frequent changes to business names, bank account details or unclear corporate structures. 
• Report suspected non-compliance confidentially using the Report a Problem tool. 

Orchard businesses and packhouses that use labour hire contractors to source workers have an important role to help maintain healthy and safe conditions for their workers. Treating them well is not only the right thing to do but can help secure a return workforce that is trained and efficient, boosting productivity. 

Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority is working together with growers to ensure that orchard and packhouse workers are protected from exploitation.  

Licensing key to labour hire compliance 

The horticulture industry is heavily regulated in Australia, and the vast majority of worker activities – such as picking, packing, sorting and pruning – are considered to be labour hire, under law. 

To protect labour hire workers from exploitation, and to help address integrity and compliance issues, several Australian jurisdictions (Victoria, Queensland, ACT and New South Wales) have implemented labour hire licensing schemes in recent years. 

Licensing offers important advantages over other types of regulation, including the ability to address non-compliant conduct through licensing action, without the added time and complexity of legal proceedings. 

Under Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018, significant penalties apply for using or providing unlicensed labour hire – up to more than $650,000 for companies and $160,000 for individuals. These maximum penalties are the same for businesses that provide labour hire services without a licence and for any host business (for example, an orchard or packhouse) that sources workers through an unlicensed provider. 

Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner, Steve Dargavel, highlights the importance of Victorian growers taking steps to protect their business from the risks of unlicensed labour hire. 

“It’s obvious why criminals might want to avoid the scrutiny involved in applying for a labour hire licence, so it’s critical that growers always check the licence,” Steve said. “Licensing helps to ensure that labour hire businesses are run lawfully by fit and proper persons – to protect workers and maintain a level playing field for businesses.” 

The LHA, which oversees Victoria’s licensing scheme, has taken more compliance and enforcement action in horticulture than any other sector. 

With 392 active licences in the horticulture industry as of 30 January 2026, LHA’s actions to date include: 

• 52 licences granted with conditions 
• 198 applications refused 
• 3 renewals refused 
• 252 licences cancelled by LHA 
• 255 licences cancelled at the licence holder’s request. 

Recent legislation changes impacting the labour hire industry 

The Victorian Parliament has recently passed legislation to strengthen the LHA’s powers to address unlawful labour hire practices, including: 

• empowering LHA to prosecute hosts who ‘indirectly’ enter into arrangements with an unlicensed provider, which will enable LHA to hold growers to account where they engage unlicensed labour hire further down the supply chain 
• expanding the circumstances in which a person may be considered not ‘fit and proper’ to operate a labour hire business 
• clarifying the definition of labour hire services to better capture supply chain arrangements 
• strengthening LHA’s information-gathering powers 
• broadening LHA’s ability to publish contextual information about licensing actions. 

The strengthened powers will be implemented progressively, with further information to be provided to stakeholders. 

What growers need to know about LHA compliance inspections 

When conducting operations, LHA officers may visit farms, provider offices or other business premises. 

LHA’s powers include the ability to monitor and investigate compliance by providers and hosts, including through site inspections. LHA officers may: 

• enter and search premises 
• inspect, copy or take extracts of documents 
• issue notices to produce information 
• seek the assistance of other persons 
• apply to court for a search and seizure warrant. 

Host businesses can help by keeping accurate records and knowing who their labour hire providers are. 

LHA inspectors always identify themselves and aim to cause minimal disruption; however, where necessary, they may exercise their powers to enter and search premises, without consent or a warrant. 

During the current growing season, the LHA has already undertaken significant compliance operations across Victorian horticulture regions as part of an expanded program of compliance and enforcement, targeting key harms to workers and unlawful behaviour in Victoria’s horticulture industry. These field activities are often carried out jointly with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), Australian Border Force and other partner agencies. 

Earlier in 2026, the LHA conducted several unannounced inspections at farms in the Yarra Valley, finding evidence of unlawful and non-compliant conduct including: 

• unlicensed labour hire providers and licence fraud 
• underpayment and exploitation of workers 
• issues in complex labour supply chains. 

The outcomes of these investigations will inform further licensing or enforcement action, which may include licence cancellations or prosecutions. 

On 17 March 2026, LHA held a horticulture industry summit in Healesville, Victoria, detailing findings from the operation – including evidence of worker exploitation and a range of unlawful conduct – and outlined how growers can contribute to addressing the issues. 

Local growers and labour hire companies from around the Yarra Valley were invited to the session, where they also heard from a FWO representative about its recent major report into the nation’s horticulture industry (see Further information). 

The FWO report showed the Yarra Valley had the lowest rates of compliance with workplace laws, along with the Riverina, Coffs Harbour and Grafton regions in NSW, and grape growing regions in Victoria. The report also highlighted that – across horticulture regions nationwide – 91 per cent of all FWO infringement notices were issued to labour hire businesses. 

While fruit growers are a current focus for LHA activities, all Victorian horticulture businesses can expect increased attention from the regulator in the year ahead. To reduce your exposure of non-compliance with workplace, tax, super, and occupational health and safety laws, ensure you provide and maintain a safe work environment for all workers, including labour hire workers; keep good records of who is working on your property; be engaged with your workers – talk to them and ask plenty of questions; and familiarise yourself with the online resources for your state’s labour hire licensing regulator and the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

Further information 

Fair Work Ombudsman Horticulture compliance report (June 2025), www.fairwork.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-06/Horticulture-compliance-report.pdf 

“Staying compliant when using labour hire contractors”, AFG Summer 2023, https://apal.org.au/staying-compliant-when-using-labour-hire-contractors/ 

For tools, resources and further information to protect your business and your workers, visit the labour hire licensing regulator website for your state: 

Victoria: labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/hort-host 

Queensland: www.labourhire.qld.gov.au 

South Australia: www.sa.gov.au/topics/business-and-trade/licensing/labour-hire 

Note: NSW, Tasmania and Western Australia currently do not have a labour hire licensing scheme. 

This article was first published in the Autumn 2026 edition of AFG.