At our recent employer obligations seminar, our guest presenter reported how labour hire arrangements in Victoria must now be licensed in accordance with the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018. A labour hire arrangement is where an individual or organisation (known as the “provider”) in the course of conducting a business supplies individuals to work in and as part of the business or undertaking of a “host” and the provider is obliged to pay the individuals for the performance of the work. If the labour hire provider is not licensed then the provider and the host can both be penalised. There are certain situations where the Labour Hire Licensing Regulations 2018 state that the supply of workers of taken to be that of labour hire. One of these situations is where a business supplies individuals to work “as a cleaner in commercial premises”. The Labour Hire Authority advises that “commercial premises” are any premises that are not residential. Where businesses use contract cleaners instead of employing cleaners directly they must ensure that the whoever they engage is a licensed labour hire provider. This can be ascertained by checking the Labour Hire Authority website at https://labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/. Failure to use a licensed labour hire provider can result in penalties. If you use contractors, we recommend that you discuss this matter further with your employment lawyer if you require advice.