Labour hire agencies

A guide for labour hire agencies to understand and manage health and safety.

Learn what labour hire is, your rights and obligations

Labour hire agency duties

You have certain duties as a labour hire agency. You must:

provide an induction and ensure the host PCBU* (the host employer) also provides an induction
assess the placement to ensure the host workplace and its operations are safe before a labour hire worker starts their placement
monitor the host employer throughout the placement to ensure that:
- health and safety requirements are being implemented
- there are no new or potential health and safety risks
- the situation has not changed. Where reasonable, undertake regular visits to the host employer to re-evaluate the job requirements, and the worker's ability to do what is being asked of them.
ensure the worker is capable to do the work (for example, do they have the correct licence, experience and qualifications to do the work safely)
ensure the worker is provided everything they need to do the work safely (for example, knowledge, qualifications, personal protective equipment, an induction with the host employer, if appropriate)
consult with the worker on health and safety matters and ensure that workers understand the consultation process and how to report incidents and hazards
consult with the the host employer to identify hazards, assess the risk and consider control measures.

If there is a risk to the worker's health and safety, do not place the worker with the host employer until the health and safety risks have been adequately controlled. This includes removing workers from their placement until any risks have been controlled.

Safe Work Australia guidance

This Safe Work Australia guide Labour hire: duties of persons conducting a business or undertaking provides information for labour hire agencies legal obligations under the model Work Health and Safety laws.

Labour hire industry animations

A video playlist of our labour hire animations.

Labour hire workers

Labour hire workers are workers who are directly employed by an agency which then ‘on-hires’ them to perform labour for a different employer. The first company is responsible for payment and other employee entitlements. The second company directs the worker tasks.

Both the labour hire agency and host organisation are responsible for making sure a specific risk assessment of potential hazards is undertaken and appropriate safety measures are put into place.

The individual worker still has an obligation to look after their own and others health and safety in the workplace.

Work health and safety issues

There are general concerns about the work health and safety of labour hire workers. This is because they are often:

less experienced due to an average younger age
exposed to greater work intensification pressures
exposed to greater risks in general
less likely to have control over how tasks are performed
less represented at workplaces
more frequently exposed to unfamiliar workplaces
less likely to receive workplace specific training and induction
unsure of who they report to on the job.

The problems for injured labour-hire workers are compounded when they do not have a specific work site to return to for rehabilitation and return to work duties.

Labour-hire workers are also more vulnerable in the workplace when:

labour-hire agencies neglect to carry out site-specific risk assessments before placement of the worker and they don’t conduct monitoring visits
communication between the labour-hire agency and host employer is poor with no systems in place to identify changes to the work tasks or environment
there is no follow up or verification that risk assessments and training have been completed.

Workers compensation and health and safety responsibilities

A labour hire agency must provide workers compensation coverage for its workers and ensure their health and safety in the workplace.

The host organisation has an obligation to ensure the safety of labour hire workers and ensure that labour hire workers on site are not exposed to risks.

To comply with existing health and safety legislation we recommend that the agency and host organisation work together to:

implement effective health and safety management systems to manage hazards and risks
provide an adequate induction and site- and task-specific training
ensure the appropriateness of pre-placement assessments for labour hire workers
make sure there is sufficient safety representation and consultation
maintain continual and effective communication between all parties.