Queensland: checking labour-hire providers for farm work

Key facts

Resource jurisdiction

Queensland; labour-hire licensing and host enquiries [source]

Identify whether another business supplies the workers

The Queensland authority describes a mandatory licensing scheme for labour-hire providers and states that users can only use a licensed provider. Its guidance asks businesses supplying workers to another person or business to consider whether they need a licence. The useful first step is to describe the actual arrangement: who engages and pays the person, who receives their work and how the supplying business operates. A recruitment introduction and an ongoing worker-supply arrangement should not be assumed identical.

Check the official register

The user guidance provides a register of licensed providers. A station sourcing a crew or a kennel sourcing temporary staff can compare the provider’s actual legal identity with that register. Keep the name and details used in the agreement so that a similarly named business is not mistaken for the licensed entity. A worker can use the same resource to understand the business involved, without treating a licence as a guarantee about every aspect of an individual job.

Ask about the farm or kennel assignment

Record the work location, duties, supervising person and whether accommodation, transport or dogs are involved. Clarify which business handles pay queries and which handles day-to-day instructions. These practical facts make an enquiry to the Queensland authority more useful when the arrangement is unclear. Licensing does not by itself identify the applicable award, establish a worker’s classification or answer whether a proposed deduction is permitted. Those questions need their own relevant employment resources.

Use the right authority for the unresolved issue

The labour-hire authority’s questions and answers explain the scheme and provide an enquiry route. Use that route for an uncertain supply structure or licence question, and use the appropriate workplace authority for pay and employment conditions. Avoid inferring that a rural location creates an exemption or that a dog business is automatically outside the scheme. This guide does not decide whether an individual arrangement is labour hire or advertise a provider; it identifies how to check the relevant Queensland source.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• Queensland Labour Hire Licensing — licensing scheme (opens in a new tab)
• Queensland Labour Hire Licensing — I use labour hire providers (opens in a new tab)
• Queensland Labour Hire Licensing — questions and answers (opens in a new tab)

Keep exploring