Labour Hire Changes | ABLIS Search | $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off

Labour Hire Changes

Do you hire your employees through a labour hire company, or do you provide workers to another person? If so, the introduction of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 will apply to you.

The new Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 has been established in Queensland to protect labour hire workers from exploitation and mistreatment i.e. underpayment of wages, tax and superannuation.

Under the new legislation, from 16 April 2018, Labour Hire Providers will be required to obtain a Labour Hire Licence and will have 60 days in which to lodge an application to receive their licence (fees will apply).

Penalties will apply if you provide labour hire services without a licence or if you use an unlicensed provider.

A labour hire provider is broadly defined to include people and businesses that provide workers to another person or business to do work. While the legislation will apply to an employment agency which on-hires staff to a business it will also capture less obvious situations where staff or even a family member is initially employed by one entity within a family group structure and then reassigned to other entities in the group for a fee.

Licencing applications will include common questions such as ABN and business details, as well as assessments of your compliance with relevant laws, such as Work Place Health and Safety Regulations and Employer Super obligations etc. When more information is available on the application process we will inform relevant clients of their obligation and offer assistance when needed.

Now would be a great time to check your compliance with relevant laws.

The second requirement of the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 will see licence-holders providing reports every 6 months to the QLD government. These reports will detail information such as the number of workers supplied, a description of the work completed, and compliance with relevant laws.

If you are unsure if this Act applies to you, please contact the office for assistance. We will be in contact with those clients likely to be effected closer to April 16th to provide more information.

Licences and permits for your business

You can now find all of your local council, state and federal government licences and permits to run your business in one simple search.

The Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) is the government’s online search tool that informs you of what licences, regulations and permits you will require to run your business.

Whether you’re starting out, expanding across states or just want to make sure you’ve got what you need, ABLIS can help; allowing you to spend less time sorting through paperwork and more time running your business.

You will receive a personalized search result indicating what your business needs from all levels of government, including links to applications and further contact details.

To try the ABLIS search yourself: ABLIS Search

$20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off

The write-off threshold of $20,000 has now been extended to the 30 June 2018.

If you buy an asset and it costs less than $20,000 you can immediately deduct the business portion in your tax return.

You are eligible to claim the immediate deduction if:You have a turnover of less than $10 million and
The asset was first used or installed ready for use in the financial year that you are claiming it
Assets that cost $20,000 or more cannot be immediately deducted and will continue to be deducted over time by using the small business pool.

Please contact the office if you have any further questions.

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