Labour Hire: Issues and Responses

By Steve O'Neill

Labour hire is an alternative form of employment to the direct employer-employee relationship. Labour hire involves relationships between a principal, an employment agency and the person performing the tasks.

While labour hire arrangements have been a feature of the Australian labour market for decades, the relatively recent data now being compiled on this sector suggests it is a growth industry, with many large employers increasing their use of labour hire arrangements in preference to direct employment. This paper reviews the factors behind the growth of labour hire and provides updates on responses to the issue within the courts, by governments and by unions.

The paper looks at the legal issues around key cases such as the Troubleshooters case and Country Metropolitan Agency Contracting Services, the union approach to labour hire, international aspects and the various state government inquiries into labour hire.

(Dept of Parliamentary Services. Parliamentary Library. Research Paper no. 9 2003-04)