Which Victoria laws apply?

Notify VIC WorkSafe of notifiable WHS incidents, PCBU primary duty of care (Victoria OHS Act s 21) and Comply with the General Environmental Duty (VIC)

Education — higher education providers compliance obligations in Victoria: sole trader

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine for a sole trader with no employees, turnover $100K–$1M, in education — higher education providers, operating in Victoria and selling to consumers and small businesses.

Short answer: 14 obligations

14 obligations apply (5 critical) across 11 regulators, plus 5 to check. Risk rating: low. No licensed regime, no employees and not an APP entity — your obligations are mainly tax, consumer law and the general WHS duty.

Sole trader or company: what changes

Compared with the same business run through a Pty Ltd company with no employees in Victoria, 0 obligations apply that did not, and 10 drop away.

What switches on when you take on staff

Moving to a sole trader with 1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M adds 20 obligations:

Victoria law that applies

3 Victoria obligations apply on these facts:

Obligation	Why it applies
Notify VIC WorkSafe of notifiable WHS incidents	Every PCBU must notify the regulator of notifiable incidents (death, serious injury, dangerous incident) · VIC law
PCBU primary duty of care (Victoria OHS Act s 21)	Every business is a PCBU — the primary duty of care applies whether or not you employ anyone · VIC law
Comply with the General Environmental Duty (VIC)	The Victorian general environmental duty applies to every business activity that could cause harm from pollution or waste · VIC law

Payroll tax in Victoria (FY2026-27)

VIC: 4.85% on Australian wages above the $1 million tax-free threshold (FY2026-27). On these facts the business is below the Victoria threshold, so payroll tax does not apply yet.

How the threshold works: Full threshold below $3M of Australian wages; between $3M and $5M it phases out at 50% of wages over $3M; no threshold above $5M.
Surcharges: Above $10M Australian wages: mental health and wellbeing surcharge 0.5% + COVID-19 debt surcharge 0.5%; above $100M a further 0.5% each (2% total).
Regional concession: 1.2125% regional employer rate
Returns: Monthly by the 7th of the following month; annual reconciliation by 21 July
Administered by: SRO Vic

Victoria regulators

Where the obligations sit

Area	Obligations
Tax	4
Whs	2
Privacy	2
Consumer law	2
Higher education	1
Marketing	1
Environment	1
Records	1

Critical obligations on this profile

Check whether these apply

Thresholds to watch

Lose the Privacy Act small-business exemption at $3M annual turnover (removal of the exemption altogether is proposed, not yet law) (threshold $3M; approaching)

Run the compliance journeyAnswer a short questionnaire about your business and get the obligations that apply to you, with the reason each one applies.

Questions

How many compliance obligations apply to education — higher education providers in Victoria run as a sole trader with no employees?: 14 obligations apply (5 critical) across 11 regulators, plus 5 to check. Risk rating: low. No licensed regime, no employees and not an APP entity — your obligations are mainly tax, consumer law and the general WHS duty.
Which Victoria laws apply?: Notify VIC WorkSafe of notifiable WHS incidents, PCBU primary duty of care (Victoria OHS Act s 21) and Comply with the General Environmental Duty (VIC)

Sources

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.