How to Check a Labour Hire Provider in Victoria

Checking a labour hire provider in Victoria starts with the Labour Hire Authority's public register, but it should not end there. A sound check covers six things: the licence, who you are actually dealing with, insurance, how the workers are engaged and paid, how their tickets and right to work are verified, and whether any of the work is passed on to someone else. Most of it takes under an hour, and it is far cheaper than finding out halfway through a project.

This guide is for civil site managers, production managers and distribution centre managers who need to vet a provider before the first crew arrives. The legal side, including the host's own obligation and the penalties, is covered in what a Victorian labour hire licence means for host employers. Here the focus is the practical checklist and what to look for in each of the three markets.

The checklist

Six checks before the first shift

Run these before you sign, and keep a dated record of each one.

1. The licence on the register

Search the Labour Hire Licence Register by business name, ABN or licence number. The status must show as active. Then confirm the ABN on the register matches the ABN on the provider's quote and invoices using ABN Lookup. A different entity name on the paperwork is a question to ask before anything else.

2. Who you are dealing with

The register lists the people running the business. If the person quoting you is not one of them, ask how they are connected and confirm it with a nominated officer. The LHA suggests exactly this step because licence fraud often starts with someone borrowing a real provider's details.

3. Insurance

Ask for a current certificate of currency for public liability and confirm the provider is registered with WorkSafe Victoria for the workers it employs. Check the dates and the insured name. A certificate that expired last month is not cover.

4. How workers are engaged and paid

Ask whether workers are casual employees on the provider's payroll or ABN contractors, which modern award applies, and who pays superannuation. A provider that calls everyone a contractor for ongoing, supervised site work is carrying a sham contracting risk that can land on the host's site.

5. Tickets and right to work

Ask how the provider verifies each worker before they are sent. Construction induction cards, High Risk Work licences and right to work should be checked against the issuing record, not a photo of a card. WorkSafe Victoria has a public licence check, and VEVO confirms visa work rights.

6. Subcontracting

Ask whether any part of the supply will be passed to another business. Since 1 October 2026 every business in a labour supply chain needs a licence, so any subcontractor must be named, licensed and checked in the same way.

Excavators and a loader working a bulk earthworks site in Melbourne

By market

What to check for your type of site

The licence is the same everywhere. The worker checks are not.

Civil sites

Construction induction card for every worker, VOC or RII competencies for plant operators, and current traffic control qualifications where traffic management is part of the job

Manufacturing

Machine specific competency, the site induction process, and food safety handling where the line is food production. Ask how the provider builds a consistent shift pool

Warehousing

LF or LO High Risk Work licences for forklift and order picker work, verified with WorkSafe, plus pick and pack experience and the PPE each worker will bring

Every site

Right to work checked on VEVO for visa holders, and a clear process for replacing a no show before the shift starts

Red flags

Signs a provider is worth walking away from

A charge rate that could not cover the award wage plus superannuation, WorkCover and payroll tax. If the numbers do not add up, someone in the chain is not being paid properly.
A licence shown only on paper or in an email, or details that do not match the register.
Bank account details that differ from the registered business, or that change between invoices.
Directors with a history of liquidated companies, or a change of directors while the same people keep running the business. The LHA lists both as signs of illegal phoenix activity.
Reluctance to say who will supply the workers, or a vague answer on how tickets are checked.
Pressure to sign quickly or to start before the paperwork is done.

Any one of these is a reason to stop and ask questions. Two or more is usually a reason not to proceed.

Records

Keep a record, then keep checking

Save a dated screenshot of the register entry, the licence number and expiry, the certificates of currency and the signed contract in one place. If an auditor, a head contractor or the Labour Hire Authority ever asks how a provider was chosen, that file answers the question in minutes.

Checks are not a one off. Subscribe to the LHA's Follow My Providers alerts so you hear about a change in licence status, recheck insurance when certificates fall due, and ask for evidence of ticket checks on new workers, not only the first crew. A provider that is comfortable with that level of scrutiny is usually the one that has nothing to hide.

These are the checks we expect a host to run on Bluestone Labour Group. Our Victorian Labour Hire Licence is VICLHL11535 and our ABN is 59 697 186 520. Every worker we place has tickets, licences and right to work sighted and checked before the first shift, and casual employees carry WorkCover and superannuation from day one. See forklift operator hire, plant operator hire and production worker hire for the roles we supply.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Search the Labour Hire Licence Register on the Labour Hire Authority website by business name, ABN or licence number. The status must show as active. Keep a dated screenshot, and do not rely on a paper certificate supplied by the provider.

At a minimum, public liability cover with a current certificate of currency, and WorkSafe Victoria registration for the workers it employs. Check the insured name matches the licensed entity and that the dates cover your project.

Both. The provider should verify every ticket and licence against the issuing record before sending a worker, and the host should sight them again at site induction. The licence register does not tell you anything about individual workers' tickets.

A rate that could not cover the award wage plus superannuation, WorkCover and payroll tax. It usually means workers are being underpaid or wrongly treated as contractors, and that risk can follow the work back to the host's site.

See all labour hire services

How to Check a Labour Hire Provider Before You Engage Them