Your Childcare Centre Is a Labour Hire Host: What That Means When You Hire a Cleaner

Most approved providers know their regulations by number. Fewer know that the moment they sign with a cleaning company, they take on a duty under a completely different law: the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic).

This post explains why a childcare centre counts as a host, what that requires, and how to check a cleaner in five minutes. It is general information, not legal advice.

Why a centre is a host

Victoria's labour hire scheme has covered commercial cleaning since it began in 2019. A business that supplies workers to do cleaning at another business's premises is generally a labour hire provider. The business where the work is done is the host.

That includes early learning centres, kindergartens and outside school hours care services, whether they are run by a large group, a council, a not-for-profit committee or a single owner. The law makes no exception for education and care.

What the law asks of a host is short: only use a licensed provider. A host that enters into an arrangement with an unlicensed provider commits an offence. Penalties for a company run past $660,000. Our post on the fines for using an unlicensed cleaner sets out the numbers.

What changed on 1 October 2026

Amendments that took effect on 1 October 2026 make clear that a licence is needed at any point in a labour supply chain. For a centre, the risk is not usually the company you signed with. It is a company further down the chain that you never signed with at all.

If your cleaner hands your centre to a subcontractor, that subcontractor needs its own licence. If it doesn't have one, you may be hosting unlicensed labour without knowing it. We covered the change in subcontracted cleaning after 1 October 2026.

Why it matters more in childcare

Every business that uses a cleaner has the same legal duty. In a centre, three things raise the stakes:

The people. An unlicensed operator is, by definition, outside the regulator's view. The scheme exists because some providers underpay workers and cut corners. A provider that cuts corners on pay is unlikely to be careful with screening.
Your other regulator. An authorised officer from the early childhood regulator will not enforce labour hire law, but they will ask how you know who is in your building. "Our cleaning company sends someone" is not a good answer.
Your families. If something goes wrong, the question parents will ask is whether the centre knew who had a key. The licence register is one of the simplest ways to show that you did.

The five-minute check

Before you sign, and once a year afterwards:

Ask for the provider's legal entity name and ABN. The name on the quote is often a trading name.
Search the public register on the Labour Hire Authority's website. Look for status Active and an industry that covers commercial cleaning. Our step-by-step guide to checking a licence shows what to look for.
Ask in writing whether any part of your centre's cleaning will be subcontracted. If the answer is yes, get the subcontractor's entity name and licence too, and check it the same way.
Put it in the contract: a licence warranty, no subcontracting without your written approval, and a right to terminate if a licence lapses.
Keep the evidence. A screenshot of the register entry, dated, in your compliance folder.

If a provider is reluctant to give you an entity name or says the licence "doesn't apply to them", that is your answer.

Reading the answer you get

Some answers sound reassuring but leave the question open:

"Our cleaners are all contractors, so it's not labour hire." Engaging cleaners as contractors does not take a business outside the scheme. The test is the character of the arrangement.
"We're licensed in another state." A Victorian site needs a Victorian licence. South Australia and Queensland run their own schemes.
"The head contractor has the licence." Since 1 October, every business supplying labour in the chain needs one.

Where we stand

Star Shining Facility Solutions holds a Victorian labour hire licence for commercial cleaning. We do not subcontract our Victorian sites to other cleaning companies, so there is only one link in the chain for you to check. We will confirm both in writing and include our licence details in every proposal.

If you are reviewing a centre's cleaning arrangements, our medical and childcare cleaning page explains how we work, or ask for a walkthrough.