A worker starts the week picking orders. By Wednesday the dock is short, and the supervisor wants to move an agency worker to another task, a new bay or a different shift. Before you change labour hire worker tasks like this, WorkSafe Victoria expects you to consult two people: the labour hire provider and the worker.
This guide is for Melbourne warehouse and plant managers who use labour hire. It sets out the host employer duties for labour hire in Victoria that apply when a task changes, then gives a short sequence to run before anyone moves: stop, check licence and training, consult both, record.
Why a small change on the floor is a safety decision
Moving a worker from picking to the dock feels like rostering. WorkSafe Victoria treats it as a safety matter. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a host employer is taken to be the employer of a labour hire worker, so you owe that worker the same health and safety duties as any other employee. The provider keeps its own duties too, and you share them.
A new task brings new hazards, new equipment and sometimes new training needs. WorkSafe also says no contract can exclude a host or a provider from its legal obligations to provide a safe place of work. The post on who carries safety duties on a peak crew covers the wider split.
What Victoria expects before a task or location changes
In its guidance for hosts, WorkSafe Victoria lists the duty in plain words: do not change the labour hire worker's tasks or location of work without consulting the labour hire provider and the labour hire worker. The habit to build is simple: consult the labour hire provider before changing role, task or location.
The second page to know is WorkSafe's explanation of the duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate. It says consultation should begin before a worker is placed and continue through the arrangement, and that if circumstances change, such as a change in work location or role, further consultation is likely to be required. "Likely" is WorkSafe's word, so treat any change of role or location as the trigger rather than debating whether it is big enough.
The provider conversation is separate from the worker conversation. WorkSafe notes that employers already have a duty to consult employees on health and safety, labour hire workers included. So the worker is not just told about the change. They are asked.
A check for each kind of change: machine, area, shift
The sequence below is a suggestion for supervisors, not a WorkSafe procedure. First, stop: the worker stays on the current task until the other steps are done. Second, check licence and training. Third, consult the provider and the worker. Fourth, record what was agreed.
A labour hire worker on a new machine
Say a picker is wanted on a forklift. WorkSafe lists two host duties that apply straight away: the worker has the right skills and knowledge to perform the work safely, and they hold the qualifications, certificates, permits and licences relevant to the job. Which machines need a high risk work licence is covered in a separate guide on licence classes. The post on booking an agency forklift operator covers what to look at before you book one.
A new area
A new bay or zone can mean different racking, different traffic and different loads. A move from light picking to heavy pallet work changes the manual handling risk, and the post on manual handling in picking looks at changing the task before you train. WorkSafe says the host should provide a site-specific induction when an employee starts a new role, so ask whether the new area needs its own induction.
A new site or shift
WorkSafe names location alongside role, so a move to another building or site belongs in the same conversation. If you are unsure whether a move between two areas of one site counts as a change of location, ask the provider before you move the worker. A change of shift pattern is not named in WorkSafe's examples, so ask the provider how it wants to be told, as the questions below explain.
What to say to the provider and the worker
Keep the call short and specific. WorkSafe says host and provider should consult on the nature of the work and its hazards, on risk control measures and who is responsible for each, on equipment such as PPE, and on each party's role if an incident happens. Turn that into a list for the provider:
- The change. The old task, the new task, and where and when the move happens.
- The hazards. What is different about the new work and what controls are in place.
- Training and licences. What the worker holds, what the new job needs, and who fills any gap.
- Equipment. Who provides the PPE and any other gear for the new task.
- Contacts. Who to call at the provider and at your site if something goes wrong.
For the worker, explain the new task, point out the new hazards, show how to report a hazard or incident, and ask whether they see any problem.
Chandler Personnel is an independent, Melbourne-based blue collar specialist that supplies warehousing and logistics labour and runs site inductions on behalf of clients. Whoever your provider is, check the provider on the official Labour Hire Licence Register. If the real problem is a short roster, you can request staff for the gap instead of moving someone who is not cleared for the job.
Recording the change so the next supervisor sees it
WorkSafe lists maintaining a training register for the labour hire worker, and keeping records relating to their health and safety, among host duties. A task change is exactly when that register goes out of date. A short note after each change does the job:
- What changed. The date, the old task or location, and the new one.
- Who was consulted. The provider contact, the worker, and what was agreed.
- What was checked. Licence or ticket sighted, induction given, training delivered and who signed it off.
- What is still open. Anything the worker is not yet cleared to do.
If your site already keeps a skills matrix, score the worker on the new task once they are cleared. The post on building a skills matrix shows one way to set it up.
Related Resources
- WorkSafe Victoria guidance for hosts
- Duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate
- Who carries safety duties on a peak crew
- Booking an agency forklift operator
- Building a skills matrix
- OHS scorecard
Common Questions About Changing a Placed Worker's Tasks
1. Can I move an agency worker to a different task during their shift?
WorkSafe Victoria lists not changing a labour hire worker's tasks or location without consulting the provider and the worker as a host duty. A mid-shift move is still a change of tasks. The practical answer is to agree a quick way to reach the provider's contact before you need it, so a short-notice change can still begin with a call to the provider and a word with the worker.
2. Do I need to consult the provider before I change a worker's location?
Yes. WorkSafe lists consulting the provider and the worker before changing location as a host duty. It also says that when circumstances change, such as a change in work location or role, further consultation is likely to be required. Ask the provider how it wants to be told, and speak to the worker as well.
3. What if the new task needs a licence or ticket the worker has not shown me?
Leave the worker on their current task. WorkSafe lists making sure the worker has the qualifications, certificates, permits and licences relevant to the job as a host duty. Ask the worker and the provider for the licence or ticket, and move the worker only once you have seen it and the training matches the machine.
4. Who tells the worker about the new hazards?
Start with you, as the host, but the duty is shared. WorkSafe lists identifying hazards, controlling the risks and providing training, instruction, information and supervision among a host's duties, and says the host should provide a site-specific induction when an employee starts a new role. It also says provider and host share the duty to provide information and training, so settle who briefs the worker on what when you consult the provider.
5. Does this apply when I only change the shift pattern?
WorkSafe's examples are a change in work location or role, and its guidance does not name shift patterns, so there is no rule to quote either way. A new shift can still bring different supervision and different hazards, such as fewer people on site. Ask the provider how it wants a shift change handled and agree it in advance.
Consult First, Then Move the Worker
Changing a placed worker's job takes a minute to decide and a few more to do properly. WorkSafe Victoria asks hosts to consult the provider and the worker first, to check the licence and training the new task needs, and to keep a record. Agree with your provider this week who you call when a placed worker's job changes, so the next move starts with that call.
