Many businesses assume Contractors and Labour Hire workers manage their own WHS training, however that assumption creates risk and regulators regularly challenge it after accidents.
Under Australian WHS law, multiple duty holders can operate at the same time. In other words, more than one person or organisation can hold WHS responsibilities for the same worker, at the same time. in relation to the same work.
Therefore, when your business influences or directs work, you also hold WHS responsibilities towards contractors or labour hire workers. Simply engaging them does not remove your duty of care.
WHS Act 101: What the law actually requires of you
What “influence or direction” means in practice
Importantly, WHS duties attach to control, not job titles or employment contracts.
Your business influences or directs work when you:
- control the workplace or site
- sets work schedules or priorities
- provides tools, equipment or systems
- determines how tasks are performed
- supervise or coordinates activities
For example, if you assign daily tasks, control access to plant or manage workflows, you influence how work occurs. As a result, you must ensure workers understand the risks and how to manage them.
National guidance from Safe Work Australia explains how these shared duties operate in practice.
What training responsibilities look like
In practice, contractors or labour hire responsibilities are straightforward.
When contractors or labour hire workers operate in your environment, you must ensure they:
- complete a workplace or site induction
- understand site specific hazards
- know emergency procedures
- receive task specific instruction
- understand how to report hazards and incidents
This applies even when:
- the engagement is short term
- the worker is highly experienced
- the worker holds licences or qualifications
Even if the engagement lasts one day, these obligations still apply. Likewise, prior experience does not replace site specific induction. A licence confirms baseline competency, however it does not explain your hazards, systems or expectations.
Consequently, businesses must treat contractors as part of their safety system – not outside it.
Common compliance mistakes regulators see
Regulators consistently identify the same failures when incidents occur involving contractors or labour hire workers.
- assuming the labour hire agency “covered the training”
- failing to induct short term or one day contractors
- relying on generic inductions that don’t address actual site risks
- not confirming workers understood the instuctions
- poor supervision during unfamiliar tasks
These gaps are often exposed after an incident, when training records and induction processes are reviewed.
How labour hire changes (but does not remove) duties
Labour hire arrangements add complexity, not immunity.
Typically:
- the labour hire agency has duties as the workers employer
- the host business has duties as the controller of the workplace
Both parties must consult, cooperate and coordinate to manage risks effectively.
Guidance on these shared responsibilities is published by Safe Work Australia and reinforced by state regulators such as Worksafe Victoria and Safe Work NSW.
What “Good Practice” looks like
Good practice for managing WHS training for contractors and labour hire workers includes:
- a short, targeted induction relevant to the site
- confirmation of competency where required
- task specific instructions before the work starts
- clear supervision arrangements
- documented evidence of training and induction
This approach is proportionate, defensible and aligned with how regulators assess compliance.
Why this matters
When incidents involve contractors or labour hire workers, regulators do not ask:
“Who employed them?”
They ask:
“Who controlled the work and the environment?”
if your business influenced how the work was done, you will be expected to demonstrate that appropriate training, instruction and supervision was provided.
Bottom Line
Contractors and labour hire workers are not outside your WHS system. If your business directs the work, controls the environment or sets expectations, you have training responsibilities, regardless of employment arrangements.
Understanding and managing share duties is not about paperwork, it is about preventing gaps that lead to harm.
