Queensland’s labour hire licensing scheme continues to deliver significant outcomes in protecting vulnerable workers and ensuring the integrity of the labour hire industry. It achieves this by working closely with stakeholders, other regulators and the community.
This edition covers a range of important developments and activities, including:
- updates from South Australia’s labour hire licensing regulator about changes to their labour hire licensing requirements.
- developments from Industrial Relations Regulation and Compliance about long service leave obligations relevant to labour hire providers in Queensland.
- guidance from the Fair Work Ombudsman about making deductions from employees’ wages.
We have also been busy in the Labour Hire Licensing Compliance Unit (LHLCU), with an overview of our licensing and prosecution activities for the 2025–2026 financial year, as well as highlights from our recent visits to the Granite Belt region.
Licensing update April to June 2026
- 208 licence applications submitted
- 175 licences granted
- 1028 licence renewals granted
- 7 licence applications refused and 2 licences cancelled
Licensed labour hire providers that do not comply with their obligations may have their licence suspended or cancelled. The licensing action report from April to June 2026 outlines the labour hire licences we suspended or cancelled.
All labour hire providers operating in South Australia (SA) must now be licensed under changes to SA’s labour hire licensing laws.
Recent cases in the Queensland Courts confirmed that a ‘transfer of calling’ can refer to either the employer’s or the employee’s calling. This has implications for an employer’s long service leave obligations when an employee has continued in the same calling.
The LHLCU recently partnered with the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) on field visits across Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt region, where we provided information and promoted compliance with the labour hire licensing scheme.
Read about prosecutions updates from Australia’s labour hire licensing schemes during the 2025–2026 financial year.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has provided guidance on the limited situations where an employer is permitted to make a deduction from an employee’s wages and the rules they must follow. Employers who fail to follow these requirements may face penalties and be required to repay the deduction to the employee
