From 29 April labour hire providers will have six months to apply for a licence to operate in Victoria.

If you are a "Host" ie.  business, farm or organisation that uses the service of labour hire companies to supply labour, you must use only a licensed labour hire provider. 

What are your obligations as a labour hire host?
The main obligation on hosts is to use only licensed labour hire providers to obtain the services of labour hire workers.  
Once the scheme commences, before engaging a labour hire provider, hosts will be able to find out whether the provider they plan to use is licensed by checking the online Register of Licensed Labour Hire Providers.
Hosts will also be able to find out whether their planned provider has applied to be licensed, by checking the separate online list of ‘Applications received’.  Hosts will fall into the category of ‘interested persons’ who can make an objection to a licence being issued to an applicant.
Hosts can be assured that licensed providers have been assessed in relation to their compliance with a range of relevant State and Commonwealth laws and whether they are a fit and proper person to hold a labour hire licence.

Hosts will be prohibited from using an unlicensed labour hire provider, and hosts doing so will be exposed to significant fines, with a maximum penalty exceeding $500,000.  There are also significant penalties for clients including hosts who seek to enter arrangements with suppliers aimed at avoiding or circumventing obligations that would otherwise be imposed by the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 on the client, supplier or someone else.  Avoidance arrangements must be reported to the Labour Hire Authority.
The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) will deliver over 20 information sessions across Victoria to help the sector prepare for the new labour hire licensing scheme.
Delivered in March and April, the information sessions will spell out labour hire provider obligations for Victorian operators and outline how to get ready for 29 April 2019. Labour hire providers will have six months from this date to apply for a licence.
To be granted a licence, providers will be required to pass a ‘fit and proper person test’, show compliance with workplace and labour hire laws, meet minimum accommodation standards, as well as report annually on their activities.
 There are also information sessions for labour hire hosts, as they are an important part of the process and liable for penalties if non-compliant with the scheme.

Find out more information on the Labour Hire Authority website.

Big fines for firms who exploit fruit pickers

Dodgy labour hire providers will be ousted from Victoria as the state's first ever licensing scheme kicks off in April.

Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas on Thursday said the new scheme will take effect from April 29 and require labour hire service providers to be licensed, in a bid to protect workers from exploitation and crack down on rogue operators.

"It will weed out those who've seen exploitation of workers as a opportunity to cut their costs. This will level the playing field up for those more responsible operators," Mr Pallas said. Read more of this Age article. 

OSU researcher shares two new products showing promise in fighting spotted wing drosophila (International Article)

Spotted wing drosophila’s fearsome superpower lies in the fruit flies’ ability to lay eggs in intact cherries, berries and other soft fruits, long before their native cousins. So, when Oregon State University horticulturist Clive Kaiser developed a protective coating that reduced cracking in cherries, his colleagues in the entomology program wanted to see if the coating could cut into SWD damage.

It didn’t.

The coating struck out again when researchers in California wanted to see if it could reduce water use in almonds.

To read more of this Good Fruit Grower article, please click here.

Australian farmers and businesses will continue to reap the benefits of Australia’s free trade agreements with further tariff cuts set to boost Australia’s competitive advantage in two of our major export markets.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the latest round of tariff cuts on January 1, 2019, under Australia’s trade agreements with China and Korea would build on the substantial economic benefits these two major agreements had already delivered for Australian exporters.

“China and Korea are two of our largest trading partners, and these tariff reductions will provide a significant boost for Australian businesses looking for export opportunities into these markets,” Mr Birmingham said.

“With Australian goods exports to China already totalling $106 billion, this latest round of cuts means tariffs have now been eliminated on 5418 products and give Australian exporters an even greater competitive edge in the Chinese market. - Read more of this Good Fruit & Veg article.

Growing concern over the exploitation of workers in the agricultural industry led to the South Australian, Queensland and Victorian state Governments conducting enquiries into the use of labour hire. Recommendations from those enquiries resulted in the introduction of similar, but subtly different labour hire regulations requiring licensing of labour hire providers in each of the three states.

Victoria: The Victorian Labour Hire Licensing Scheme is a new business licensing system that protects vulnerable labour hire workers from exploitation and regulates the provision of labour hire services. Certain administrative provisions under the scheme have begun, but licensing is not yet in force.

Compliance obligations for labour hire providers and users, including those relating to licensing, are not expected to begin before early 2019. The commencement date for these obligations will be announced well in advance and will include information about the transition period for applying for a licence.

Further information: https://labourhireauthority.vic.gov.au/

Source: MADEC