A labour hire portal is the setup a provider gives you to book casual staff online, see who is coming and review hours and invoices afterwards. The features worth looking for are the ones that remove back-and-forth: an order form that captures the whole shift brief, a confirmation that names each worker with licence and induction status, a clear way to change or cancel, and records you can trace from timesheet to invoice.
Not every provider has one, and software cannot create workers who are not available. A provider with a tight phone and email process can beat a clumsy portal, so judge the function rather than the screen. Chandler Personnel is a Melbourne labour hire and permanent recruitment business, and this guide is general information about what to ask any provider.
Do you need a labour hire portal, or a reliable ordering process?
You need the functions of a portal, and it matters less whether they arrive as a login, a form or a disciplined email thread. The test: can a new supervisor place an order, get names back and approve hours at 5 am without ringing the account manager to ask how?
A portal helps most when several supervisors place orders or accounts must match invoices to hours. It helps least when the real limit is the supply of ticketed workers: a form cannot produce a reach truck operator who is not on the provider's books.
What should a labour hire order form capture?
An order form should capture the full brief in one submission, with the essential fields required. The core is a written shift brief covering site address, gate, start time, PPE, required licence class and a named supervisor, as set out in this guide to briefing a fast fill. Add these:
- Role and tasks. What the worker will actually do. WorkSafe Victoria's guidance for labour hire hosts lists defining the job, tasks or role among a host's duties.
- Machine and licence class. Name the machine, such as a counterbalance forklift or an order picker.
- Hazards and controls. The same page asks hosts to give the provider detailed information about the work, its hazards and the risk controls.
- Hours and overtime. Start, finish, breaks, and whether overtime is authorised.
- Cost reference. A purchase order number or cost centre, so the invoice can be matched later.
To start an order with Chandler Personnel, send a request through the request staff form, and write the full shift brief out as described above.
How should the system confirm who is coming to site?
A confirmation should name every worker, show licence class and expiry, say whether the induction is done, and arrive before the shift. WorkSafe Victoria says a host must make sure a labour hire worker has the qualifications, certificates, permits and licences relevant to the job, keep a training register, and make sure the worker understands the workplace's safety requirements, for example through an induction. A confirmation that lists those items gives you a record to start that register from.
If you run more than one provider at peak, give them the same fields and format. The post on using several suppliers at peak recommends one order form, one fill-by time and one reporting format for every supplier.
A confirmation screen does not replace your own check of the provider. In Victoria the Labour Hire Authority says hosts must only use licensed providers, and it advises hosts to check the Labour Hire Licence Register and not rely on paper documentation. This is general information, so check the linked government source or get advice for your own situation. The Authority's host page also says the definition of providing labour hire services under the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) is amended from 1 October 2026, so check whether you or the businesses you source labour from now need a licence. The licensing and WorkSafe points here are for Victoria; check your own state's rules if you order labour elsewhere.
How should changes and cancellations work online?
A change or cancellation should be a recorded request that the provider acknowledges, not a text message someone may miss. Ask whether you can amend headcount, start time and site yourself, whether the provider confirms the change back, and whether the worker is told.
Cancellation cut-offs and charges are commercial terms, so they belong in the service agreement. Check that the agreement and the screen say the same thing.
WorkSafe Victoria lists, among a host's duties, not changing a labour hire worker's tasks or location of work without consulting the provider and the worker, so a change form should have a place to record that conversation.
What reporting should you get on timesheets, incidents and invoices?
You should get an approval trail for hours, a route for hazard and incident reports, and an invoice that matches approved hours line for line.
- Timesheets. Approval by shift, showing start, finish and breaks for each worker, with a way to query a line before it reaches the invoice.
- Incidents and hazards. WorkSafe Victoria lists advising labour hire workers how to report hazards or incidents among a host's duties. Ask whether a report reaches both you and the provider with a time and date. Notifying WorkSafe Victoria of a notifiable incident or injury is also on that list of host duties, so do not assume the provider will do it for you.
- Invoices. Each line should show worker, date, hours, rate and your order reference. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains that the labour hire employer pays the worker, and that a business may be legally responsible for a contractor's underpayments if it is involved in them. Its example is a manufacturer that pays a low contract price and does not raise the concern, so a rate-by-rate breakdown is a sensible check. This is general information; get advice for your situation.
- Regular reports. Ask what the provider can report on fill rate, no-shows and time to fill. The post on what procurement teams score in a staffing RFP lists fill rate and time to fill among the things buyers assess, though it is written from the supplier's side.
Ten questions to put to a provider
Ask the provider to show each answer on screen or on a real sample. A provider without a portal can still answer with a sample order, confirmation and invoice.
- Can I see the order form, and which fields are required?
- Can several supervisors place orders, and can I see all of them in one list?
- How long before the shift do I get names back?
- Does each confirmation show licence class, expiry and induction status?
- How do I change or cancel, and where are the cut-offs recorded?
- What do I receive when a worker is late or does not arrive?
- How do I approve hours, and can I query a line before invoicing?
- How does a hazard or incident report reach both of us, and who sees it first?
- Can I trace every invoice line to an approved timesheet, and can I export my own records?
- Which licensed business employs the workers, and does any part of my order go to another business?
Related Resources
- Check a provider's licence status
- Signs of labour hire licence fraud
- Managing your labour contracting
- Labour hire in Melbourne
- Warehousing and logistics staffing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a labour hire portal?
A labour hire portal is the online system a provider offers clients to place orders, receive worker details, approve timesheets and see invoices. There is no standard definition, so one provider's portal may be a login and another's a form with email confirmations. Ask to see actual screens or samples.
What should a labour hire order form include?
At minimum: site address, gate, start and finish times, headcount, role and tasks, machine and licence class, PPE, a named supervisor with a mobile number, and a purchase order or cost centre.
Who is responsible for the safety of a labour hire worker in Victoria?
WorkSafe Victoria says the host is taken to be the employer of a labour hire worker under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and owes the same duties as to any other employee. Host and provider share responsibility and must consult, cooperate and coordinate so far as reasonably practicable. This is general information, so check the WorkSafe page or get advice.
How do I check that a labour hire provider is licensed in Victoria?
Search for the provider on the Labour Hire Licence Register on the Labour Hire Authority website, and confirm the business you are dealing with is the one listed. The Authority advises hosts not to rely on paper documentation, and hosts can subscribe to Follow My Providers to be told of licence changes.
Judge a labour hire portal by its answers
A labour hire portal is worth having when it cuts questions at order time, names who is coming, records changes, and gives you hours, incidents and invoices you can trace. Ask each provider to show the ten items above rather than describe them, and treat a gap as a prompt to ask how they handle it today. Before your next order, write the shift brief out in full.
