Subcontracted Cleaning After 1 October 2026: Every Link in the Chain Needs a Licence

Commercial cleaning has long been passed down a chain. A building owner engages a facilities manager. The facilities manager engages a cleaning company. The cleaning company hands some sites to a subcontractor, who may hand them on again. Each layer takes a margin, and the person who mops the floor is often three or four contracts away from the business that pays for it.

Victoria's labour hire law has applied to commercial cleaning since 2019, but it was arguable where some links in that chain stood. From 1 October 2026, that argument is largely over. This post explains the change and what to put in your contracts. It is general information, not legal advice.

What changed on 1 October

The Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Act changed the definition of providing labour hire services. The question is now whether an arrangement has the character of labour supply. In the Labour Hire Authority's words, the law now more clearly requires a licence to supply labour at any point in a supply chain.

Two consequences for cleaning:

• Subcontractors need their own licence. This was already a standard expectation, and the LHA's cleaning guidance says any subcontractor to a labour hire provider must be licensed. The new definition removes the room for argument.
• Bare intermediaries are caught. A business that does not employ any cleaners itself, but places workers employed by someone else, is supplying labour and needs a licence.

The LHA has told cleaning businesses to review whether they, or the entities they source labour from, now need a licence.

Why it matters to the business being cleaned

Under the Act, the business where the work is done is the host, and hosts must only use licensed providers. Penalties for using an unlicensed provider exceed $660,000 for a company (see the fines for using an unlicensed cleaner).

If your cleaner is licensed but quietly subcontracts your site to an unlicensed operator, you can end up hosting unlicensed labour without knowing it. The fix is not to ban subcontracting outright, since there are legitimate reasons for it, such as specialist window or carpet work. The fix is to know about it and approve it.

Facility managers: you may be a provider too

The LHA's guidance on hosts points out that a business that obtains workers from a provider and supplies them on to another business may be a host, and, if the arrangement is wholly or principally the provision of labour, a provider that needs its own licence.

If your facilities management business "provides cleaning" to buildings but every cleaner comes from a subcontractor, look at your own position under the new definition, not just your subcontractors'.

Five contract clauses worth having

Whether you are a practice, an office tenant or a facilities manager, these clauses turn the law into something you can enforce. Have your own adviser adapt them to your contract.

1. Licence warranty. The provider warrants that it holds, and will keep, a current Victorian labour hire licence covering commercial cleaning, and gives its licence number.
2. Subcontractor approval. The provider will not subcontract any part of the work without your prior written approval. Any approved subcontractor must hold its own current licence, and the provider will give you that subcontractor's legal name, ABN and licence number.
3. Notice of change. The provider will tell you in writing within a set period, say five business days, if its licence, or a subcontractor's licence, is suspended, cancelled, refused on renewal or made subject to new conditions.
4. Records on request. The provider will produce evidence that workers on your site are paid their lawful wages and super, and will hold workers' compensation and public liability cover for them.
5. Termination right. You may end the contract immediately, without penalty, if the provider or any subcontractor is or becomes unlicensed.

Our post on commercial cleaning contract clauses covers the rest of a good cleaning agreement.

Questions to ask at the next review

• Who are the people who actually clean our site, and who pays them?
• Are any of them engaged through another business? Which one?
• Has that changed in the last year?
• Can you show us each business's entry on the licence register?

A provider that answers these clearly is giving you what you need. One that hesitates is telling you something too.

Where we stand

Star Shining Facility Solutions holds a Victorian labour hire licence for commercial cleaning, and we do not subcontract our Victorian sites to other cleaning companies. The people who clean your site are engaged by us. We will confirm that in writing, and we include our licence details in every proposal. See our guide for facility managers, office cleaning Melbourne, or ask for a walkthrough.