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)

Professional services (general) compliance obligations in Victoria: sole trader

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine for a sole trader with no employees, turnover $100K–$1M, in professional services (general), operating in Victoria and selling to consumers and small businesses.

Short answer: 13 obligations

13 obligations apply (4 critical) across 10 regulators, plus 3 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
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 professional services (general) businesses in Victoria run as a sole trader with no employees?: 13 obligations apply (4 critical) across 10 regulators, plus 3 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.