Industries that require a labour hire licence

Labour hire providers must be licensed if the workers they provide carry out the following types of work:

• horticulture processing
• meat processing
• seafood processing
• cleaning
• trolley collection.

View industry definitions

Who needs a licence?

You’ll need a licence:

if your business provides workers directly to carry out work for someone else (the host) as part of the host's business or commercial undertaking - a licence is required regardless of whether the workers provided are under the control of you or the host.

• if your business provides workers to a host indirectly through one or more agents or intermediaries to carry out work as part of the host's business or commercial undertaking
• if you have an arrangement with your workers to supply them either directly or indirectly to another person (the host) to carry out work as part of the host's business or commercial undertaking
• if the workers you provide to the other person (the host) are paid, whether in full or in part, by your business - eg even if payment is only for accommodation.

Who doesn't need a licence?

Businesses don't need a licence in circumstances where:

• a service is being provided rather than workers - examples of services
• a genuine subcontracting arrangement is in place - examples of subcontracting arrangements
• the workers are an 'in-house' employee of the business, which means they are:
  • engaged on a regular and systematic basis
  • can expect their employment to continue
  • work primarily for one employer

  - examples of in-house employees

• they’re acting as an intermediary or agent (this means they contract with a business to supply workers, but they don’t themselves have any arrangement with workers so they source them from another separate business - a labour hire provider - who has the arrangement with the workers to supply them to other businesses and pay them directly)

  - examples of intermediaries.

Other exemptions

Exemptions also apply to business that:

operate as a sole trader and the only worker that is provided is the owner of a business who participates in its management and shares in any profits

• operate as a partnership with:
  • no more than two individuals and
  • the worker provided to another business is an owner of the business who participates in the management of the company or shares in its profits.
• operates as a company (body corporate) with:
  • no more than two directors and
  • the worker provided to another business is a director of the company who participates in the management of the company or shares in its profits.

Provider register

Check for licensed labour hire providers on the CBS Public Register or email occupational@sa.gov.au to check if a provider has lodged an application.