A quote gets the attention, but the signed agreement is what you and the provider fall back on when something changes. The right labour hire contract clauses will not make a provider honest, yet they put the questions regulators care about in writing before the first shift.
Both regulators say what a host should record: the Labour Hire Authority in its host checklist and WorkSafe Victoria in its guidance for hosts. This labour hire contract checklist collects those points. It is not a template and not legal advice, so have your adviser draft or check the actual wording.
Why the signed agreement matters more than the quote
A rate tells you what you will pay. It does not tell you who is legally supplying the workers, who tells you when something changes or who does what when a worker is hurt. The agreement is where those answers sit.
The Authority says hosts can be liable for a provider's contraventions under workplace and migration law, and that they share responsibility for workplace safety. It also says substantial penalties may apply to a host that engages an unlicensed provider, and its host page has the current amounts. A contract is not a substitute for your own checks. It can make your expectations explicit and give you something to act on if the provider falls short.
Rates, service levels and how buyers compare suppliers are covered in our posts on buying labour hire and on how procurement scores suppliers. This guide is about the clauses in the agreement itself. If the provider sends its own labour hire terms and conditions, read them against the list below.
Identify the supplier and the pay obligation
The first item on the Authority's list for engaging a new provider is a written contract that properly identifies who the provider is and covers the correct wages and entitlements for workers. In practice that means three things to write down:
- The legal supplier. Name the company that is actually supplying the workers. As our suggestion, use the legal entity and not only a trading name.
- A match to the register. The Authority asks hosts to confirm that the company offering services is the same one listed on the Labour Hire Licence Register, and to ask for evidence of its company structure and contracting arrangements.
- The pay obligation. A clause that covers paying workers the correct wages and entitlements, which is how the Authority puts it.
The Authority also asks hosts to keep a record of these checks. A copy of what you checked, and when, sits well beside the signed agreement. The Authority adds that paperwork alone is not enough, because paper documents can be illegitimate or out of date, so check the register first and then sign.
Duties to tell you about licence, business and subcontracting changes
The Authority's checklist asks for clear and specific expectations of the provider, including an obligation to advise of any subcontracting arrangements or changes to its business or licence status. That is the clause most worth getting right, because a licence can change after the ink is dry.
Two pieces work together. The Authority's Follow My Providers service notifies you of changes to a provider's licence status, and a labour hire subcontracting clause puts the duty to speak up on the provider as well. One is a tool you run, the other is a promise you hold. Checking the licence in the first place is covered in our post on checking the licence across states.
Our suggestions, which are not Authority rules, are to ask for notice before further supply happens and not afterwards, and to say in plain words that a change of company, name or ownership counts as a business change. What happens next if the news is bad is a commercial decision for you and your adviser. Fraud signs and supply chain questions each have their own guide.
Workplace law and safety coordination in writing
The Authority's third checklist item is to set clear expectations that the provider must comply with all workplace laws. Put that in the agreement in those terms.
For safety, WorkSafe Victoria says a host employer is taken to be the employer of a labour hire worker under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, with the same duties as for any other employee. It says hosts and providers must consult, cooperate and coordinate so far as reasonably practicable, and that this should begin before the worker is placed and carry on through the arrangement. The agreement is a sensible place to record how you will do that. WorkSafe's guidance for hosts lists the ways a host works with the provider. They include detailed information about the work, its hazards and the risk controls, access to health and safety system information, support for requests to visit the workplace, and agreement on who provides equipment such as personal protective equipment and who the health and safety contacts are at each business. The agreement can say that this will happen before the first shift and who holds each contact. WorkSafe's consultation guidance adds that the host is likely to be the one to notify it of a notifiable incident and recommends confirming that through consultation. Our post on who carries safety duties for labour hire workers in Victoria sets the same points out as a short list to settle in writing, and covers the WorkCover side.
Clauses that do not work: shifting a safety duty by contract
It is tempting to write that the provider is responsible for all safety on your site. WorkSafe is direct on this: no contract can exclude the host employer or the labour hire provider from fulfilling their legal obligations to provide a safe place of work. The host owes a labour hire worker the same safety duties as any other employee, and both parties stay responsible.
Induction and training work the same way. WorkSafe says the provider should give an induction, the host should give a site-specific induction when an employee starts a new role, and the host must provide training, which varies with the job. The provider should assess whether the host can provide that training and check with the worker that it was received. An agreement can say who delivers what. It cannot hand your part to someone else.
Take any wording about who bears what risk to your adviser. The sound approach is the one above: record the information, access, equipment and consultation steps, and treat the safety duties as shared.
Related Resources
- Labour Hire Authority host checklist
- WorkSafe Victoria guidance for hosts
- Buying labour hire
- How procurement scores suppliers
- Who carries safety duties
- Checking the licence
- Labour hire in Melbourne
Common Questions About Labour Hire Contract Clauses
1. Should a labour hire agreement be in writing?
The Labour Hire Authority's checklist for engaging a new provider says to sign a written contract that properly identifies the provider and covers the correct wages and entitlements for workers. It does not say the law requires any particular clause, so ask your adviser what your arrangement needs beyond the checklist.
2. What should the agreement say about subcontracting?
The Authority's checklist says to include an obligation for the provider to advise of any subcontracting arrangements or changes to its business or licence status. Our suggestion is to ask for that notice before further supply starts. A separate guide looks at supply chains and intermediaries in more detail.
3. Can a contract make the provider responsible for all safety on my site?
No. WorkSafe Victoria says no contract can exclude the host employer or the labour hire provider from fulfilling their legal obligations to provide a safe place of work. The host is taken to be the employer of the worker for these purposes, and host and provider must consult, cooperate and coordinate.
4. Should the agreement require the provider to tell me if its licence status changes?
The Authority's checklist says to include an obligation to advise of changes to the provider's business or licence status. You can also subscribe to Follow My Providers to be notified of licence status changes. What you do if the status changes is a commercial decision, so agree it with your adviser.
5. Can the agreement hand all induction and training to the provider?
No. WorkSafe says the host should provide a site-specific induction when an employee starts a new role and must provide training. The provider has its own induction role and should check that the host can give the training. The agreement can set who delivers what, and the two businesses should settle that through consultation, but it cannot remove the host's obligations.
Put the Duties in the Agreement
A good agreement names the legal supplier, records the pay obligation, requires notice of subcontracting and licence or business changes, and sets the expectation of workplace law compliance. It also records how you will consult on safety, without pretending a clause can move a safety duty. Chandler Personnel is an independent, Melbourne-based blue collar specialist, and whichever provider you choose, check it on the official register before you sign. If you are weighing up labour hire in Melbourne, you can request staff once your own checks are done.
