Labour hire licensing by state — schemes, hosts and penalties compared
Labour hire licensing exists in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT — not in NSW, WA, Tasmania or NT. Compare licence triggers, host obligations, fees and penalties across all eight jurisdictions.
Labour hire licensing is the single most fragmented area of state regulation for employers. Four jurisdictions — Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT — run general schemes. The other four (NSW, WA, Tasmania, NT) do not, though NSW has a narrow security-industry licensing regime that some labour-hire providers fall into.
This matters most for hosts — the businesses that engage labour-hire workers. In licensing states, engaging an unlicensed provider is itself an offence with corporate fines exceeding $500,000. The licensing obligation sits on the provider; the engagement obligation sits on the host. Both can be prosecuted for the same arrangement.
Each scheme defines "labour hire" slightly differently and carves out different exclusions (executive secondment, group secondment, very high-income workers, internal training). South Australia's scheme broadened to all industries from 29 January 2025, bringing it into line with Victoria and Queensland after a decade as a sector-only regime. Queensland from 1 July 2025 also excluded high-income employees ($183,100+) not covered by an award or agreement.
For the plain-English explainer, see our companion guide: Labour hire licensing in Australia.
Comparison matrix
Click any column header to sort.
Licensing scheme in force? | No general scheme (security-industry licensing only) NSW Fair Trading | Yes — Labour Hire Authority Labour Hire Authority | Yes — Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit Labour Hire Qld | No general scheme WA DMIRS | Yes — Consumer and Business Services (all industries from 29 Jan 2025) CBS SA | No general scheme Tas Dept of Justice | Yes — Access Canberra Access Canberra | No scheme NT Gov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governing Act | — NSW Legislation | Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) Vic Legislation | Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (Qld) Qld Legislation | — WA Legislation | Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (SA) SA Legislation | — Tas Legislation | Labour Hire Licensing Act 2020 (ACT) ACT Legislation | — NT Legislation |
Scope (industries covered) | Security industry only (narrow scope) NSW Fair Trading | All industries Labour Hire Authority | All industries (high-income $183,100+ excluded from 1 Jul 2025) Labour Hire Qld | — WA Commerce | All industries from 29 Jan 2025 (previously horticulture, meat, seafood, cleaning, trolley collection only) CBS SA | — Tas Justice | All industries Access Canberra | — NT Gov |
Host obligation Whether a business that engages a provider can be prosecuted for using an unlicensed one. | — NSW Fair Trading | Yes — must check provider is licensed on public register before engaging Labour Hire Authority | Yes — fines exceed $500,000 for corporations using unlicensed provider Labour Hire Qld | — WA Commerce | Yes — host offence to engage unlicensed provider (all industries from 2025) CBS SA | — Tas Justice | Yes — offence to engage unlicensed provider Access Canberra | — NT Gov |
Public licence register | — NSW Fair Trading | Yes — public Labour Hire Licence Register Labour Hire Authority | Yes — public licence register Labour Hire Qld | — WA Commerce | Yes — public register via CBS SA CBS SA | — Tas Justice | Yes — public register via Access Canberra Access Canberra | — NT Gov |
Maximum penalty (corporation, engaging or providing unlicensed) | — NSW Fair Trading | >$500,000 (indexed penalty units) Vic Legislation | >$500,000 plus 3 years imprisonment for individuals Qld Legislation | — WA Commerce | >$400,000 (indexed) SA Legislation | — Tas Justice | >$400,000 (indexed penalty units) ACT Legislation | — NT Legislation |
Mutual recognition Whether a licence in one state covers activity in another. | n/a (no scheme) NSW Fair Trading | No — separate Vic licence required to supply workers in Victoria Labour Hire Authority | No — separate Qld licence required Labour Hire Qld | n/a (no scheme) WA Commerce | No — separate SA licence required CBS SA | n/a (no scheme) Tas Justice | No — separate ACT licence required Access Canberra | n/a (no scheme) NT Gov |
Administering regulator | NSW Fair Trading (security only) NSW Fair Trading | Labour Hire Authority Labour Hire Authority | Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit (OIR) Labour Hire Qld | — WA Commerce | Consumer and Business Services SA CBS SA | — Tas Justice | Access Canberra Access Canberra | — NT Gov |
Every cell links to the cited source. Rules Mate links and summarises — it does not reproduce statutory text. Confirm with the cited regulator before relying on any cell.
Frequently asked
Do I need a labour hire licence in NSW?
There is no general labour hire licensing scheme in New South Wales. NSW does have a narrow security-industry licensing regime that some labour-hire arrangements fall into, but the broad provider-and-host model that operates in Victoria, Queensland, SA and the ACT does not apply in NSW.
If I have a Queensland licence, can I supply workers in Victoria?
No. Each scheme licences activity within its own state and there is no mutual recognition between the four licensing jurisdictions. A provider that supplies workers across state borders generally needs a separate licence in each relevant state — Vic, Qld, SA and ACT each licence independently.
Are host businesses penalised for using an unlicensed provider?
Yes, in every licensing state. The host obligation is one of the strongest features of the schemes: a host that engages an unlicensed provider commits its own offence with corporate fines exceeding $400,000-$500,000 depending on the state. Hosts must check the public licence register before engaging a provider.
What changed in South Australia in 2025?
The Labour Hire Licensing (Scope of Act) Amendment Act 2025 came into force on 29 January 2025. It extended the SA scheme from five sectors (horticulture, meat processing, seafood processing, cleaning, trolley collection) to all industries, bringing SA's coverage into line with Victoria and Queensland.
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