Timeline unclear for national labour hire authority

The government has failed to set a timeline for the long-awaited national authority aimed at cracking down on dodgy labour hire operators.

The federal government has committed to bringing in a national labour hire licensing authority to reign in dodgy operators, but a timeline remains unclear. Picture: Zoe Phillips

No timeline has been set for a long-awaited national authority to crack down on dodgy labour hire operators.

The federal government stopped short of allocating funding to establish a national labour hire licensing scheme in last week’s budget, as consultation continues on how the regulator will work.

Cash “to explore the design and implementation of a national labour hire licensing scheme” was carved out from $212.9 million in cuts from the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio.

Those cuts included $15.8 million from the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman, which has been fining labour hire operators for breaches of the Fair Work Act in the absence of a national licensing scheme.

Farmers and workers are united in their support for a national regulator.

Australian Workers’ Union secretary Dan Walton said having a different set rules in every state was not working for workers or producers.

“It’s important for the government to take into consideration unified labour hire licencing around the country, and frankly, for farm owners and the bigger businesses that have got multiple sites, this is going to make their life a lot easier having a consistent set of laws which they need to operate under,” he said.

To date, four states — Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT — have introduced labour hire licensing schemes, and a scheme is being discussed in Western Australia. Tasmania, NSW and the Northern Territory are yet to introduce licensing rules.

A majority of the workers employed by labour hire companies work in horticulture. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Victoria last week announced its second successful prosecution since setting up a Labour Hire Authority in 2019.

The National Farmers Federation backed the call for national laws.

“We are calling for a more streamlined system and for mechanisms that drum out dodgy operators,” an NFF spokeswoman told the Weekly Times last week.

As of last year, 319,900 people were estimated to be employed by labour hire contractors, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The number represents about 2.3 per cent of all employed people, but a large proportion of people employed in sectors such as horticulture.

Labor has committed to setting up a national regulator, but the timeline remains unclear.

A spokesman for Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke referred questions about a timeline for the establishment of a labour hire licensing scheme to the Department of Employment.

A department spokesperson said “decisions about the timing for establishing national labour hire regulation are a matter for the Government”.

Stakeholder meetings regarding the scheme are expected to be completed by Friday.

The department spokesperson confirmed funding for the administration of a national labour hire licensing scheme had not yet been allocated.

Meanwhile, an independent consultant would be engaged to review spending at the Fair Work Ombudsman and “identify further efficiencies without negatively impacting the FWO’s core service delivery”, the spokesperson said.