Host Employer OHS Duties for Labour Hire in Victoria

In Victoria, a business that hosts a labour hire worker is treated as that worker's employer for health and safety purposes. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), the host owes a labour hire worker the same duties it owes its own employees: a safe workplace, information, instruction, training and supervision, and consultation. The labour hire provider keeps its own duties as well. Since 22 March 2022 the two have also had a shared duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other, so far as reasonably practicable, so that nothing falls between them.

This guide is for site managers, warehouse managers and production managers at civil, warehouse and manufacturing sites who host labour hire workers. It explains in plain terms what WorkSafe Victoria says each side does, and gives a practical checklist for a placement. It is general information, not legal advice, so check WorkSafe Victoria's guidance or get advice for your own situation.

The host

What the host controls on its own site

WorkSafe Victoria lists these among the host's duties to a labour hire worker.

The workplace and the work

Keeping the workplace, and the ways in and out of it, safe and without risks to health. Defining the job, identifying the hazards and controlling the risks, the same as for any of your own employees.

Induction, training and supervision

Making sure the worker understands your site's health and safety rules, usually through an induction, and providing the instruction, training and supervision the task needs. WorkSafe also lists keeping a training register for the worker.

Skills, licences and equipment

Making sure the worker has the skills, licences and permits for the task, providing the equipment the job needs, including protective equipment, and making sure any equipment brought onto the site is safe.

Consultation and incidents

Consulting labour hire workers and health and safety representatives, introducing workers to the HSR and your safety contact, telling them how to report hazards and incidents, and notifying WorkSafe of any notifiable incident.

Workers in high visibility clothing on a Melbourne work site

Who does what

Host and provider, side by side

Both sides keep their own duties. The aim is cover without gaps, not double handling.

Site hazards and controls

Host: identifies and controls site hazards. Provider: checks the site and the controls before and during the placement

Induction

Host: runs the site induction. Provider: briefs the worker on the role and the site before the first shift

Licences and tickets

Host: confirms the ones the task needs. Provider: sights and verifies them before the booking

Changes to the work

Host: consults the provider and the worker before changing tasks or location. Provider: confirms the worker is fit and ticketed for the change

Incidents

Host: usually notifies WorkSafe as the party in control of the site, confirmed in advance. Both: take part in the investigation

Contacts

Both: nominate a health and safety contact each side can reach during the placement

Checklist

A practical checklist for every placement

Before the booking, tell the provider the tasks, the hazards, the plant and equipment, the hours and the conditions on site
Agree in writing who provides each item of protective equipment and what the worker must bring
Confirm the licences, tickets and competencies the task needs, and have the provider sight them
Agree who notifies WorkSafe if a notifiable incident happens, and swap safety contact names and numbers
Run your site induction before the worker starts the task, and record it in the training register
Introduce the worker to their supervisor, the HSR and your safety contact on the first day
Tell the provider and the worker before you change the worker's tasks or move them to another area
Report incidents and near misses to the provider as well as dealing with them on site

None of this needs to be duplicated. WorkSafe says it is not intended that hosts and providers repeat each other's work, so one side can take a task such as keeping records, as long as both agree who does it and both still meet their own duties.

In practice

How the shared duty works on civil, warehouse and production sites

What the shared duty asks for. WorkSafe describes three parts. Consultation means exchanging health and safety information and agreeing how each side will meet its duties. Cooperation means carrying out what was agreed, answering reasonable requests promptly and nominating a contact. Coordination means planning together so that each side's controls work with the other's and the worker is not left with gaps. It starts before the worker arrives and continues for the whole placement, with more consultation whenever the work or the location changes.

On a civil site. A labourer booked for general site work who is then asked to work in a trench or a pit is a change of task. Before it happens, the host tells the provider, the provider confirms the worker has the confined space or excavation training the task needs, and the host briefs the worker on the controls in place. Our guide on crewing a subdivision stage by stage lists the tickets each stage tends to need.

In a warehouse. A picker booked for ambient work should not be sent into a freezer, or onto an order picker, without the provider knowing. The host owns the traffic management plan that separates people from forklifts and the warm up break pattern in cold rooms. The provider confirms the worker's licence class and that they have agreed to cold work. See our guide on staffing a cold storage warehouse.

On a production line. Machine guarding, lockout procedures and manual handling on the line belong to the host's risk controls, and the worker must be trained on the specific machine before running it. The provider checks the worker is capable of the task and passes on anything the worker reports. Our guide on staffing a production line with casuals covers induction for new starters.

What a provider should do. WorkSafe says no contract can exclude either side from its legal obligations, and that a provider that is not confident a host can provide a safe workplace should not place a worker there. A provider who asks detailed questions about your site before the first booking is doing what the law expects, not being difficult. Checking that the provider holds a Victorian labour hire licence is a separate obligation for the host, covered in our guide to the Victorian labour hire licence.

How Bluestone works. We engage our workers as casual employees under the relevant award, with WorkCover from the first shift. Before each new site we ask for the tasks, hazards, plant, hours, induction and safety contact, and we confirm who notifies WorkSafe if a notifiable incident happens. We hold Victorian Labour Hire Licence VICLHL11535.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) the host is taken to be the employer of a labour hire worker and owes them the same health and safety duties as its own employees. The labour hire provider keeps its own duties as well.

Since 22 March 2022, labour hire providers and host employers must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other, so far as reasonably practicable, where they share health and safety duties to a labour hire worker. It starts before the placement and continues for its whole length.

WorkSafe says this is likely to be the host employer, as the party in control of the workplace, but recommends confirming it between the host and the provider before the placement starts.

Yes. The host must make sure the worker understands the site's health and safety requirements, usually through an induction, and must provide the instruction, training and supervision the task needs. WorkSafe also lists keeping a training register for the worker.

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Health and Safety Duties When You Host Labour Hire Workers in Victoria