Two-minute audit · Casual and labour hire workers · NSW
Labour hire induction checklist: is your casual pool inducted?
Twelve questions, two minutes, no email. Find the gaps in how casual and labour hire workers are inducted on your site, then fix the ones that matter first.
- 12 questions
- Two minutes
- Not legal advice
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Who is responsible? Both of you.
Under the model work health and safety laws, a labour hire agency and its host are each a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). Each owes duties to the worker. Neither can contract out of those duties or hand them to the other. Both must consult, co-operate and coordinate so that risks to the worker are eliminated or minimised so far as is reasonably practicable.1
In practice that includes making sure the worker has the licences and experience the work needs, and gets the information, instruction, training and supervision to do it safely, including a safety induction that sets out the site's WHS policies, procedures and practices.1 The agency and the host work out together who does which part. The audit below asks whether you have actually done that, and whether you could prove it.
SafeWork NSW publishes guidance for hosts and agencies in NSW.2
Self-check
The two-minute audit
Twelve questions. Answer for the casual and labour hire workers on your site today, not the ones you plan to have. 'Not sure' scores zero, because a gap you cannot see is still a gap.
- Every casual completes a safety induction before their first shift, not during it. Before the first shift means before they are working, not an hour into it.
- You hold a dated record of each casual's induction. Who delivered it, when, and what it covered.
- You have agreed in writing which parts of the induction your provider does and which parts you do. Per provider. Not a handshake.
- Licences and tickets are checked at source, not just from a photo of a card. With the regulator's register or the issuing body.
- Ticket and licence expiry dates are tracked, and someone is alerted before they lapse.
- On day one, each casual can tell you who their supervisor is, how to stop work and how to report an incident. Ask three at random.
- Safe work method statements and permits are explained to casuals and signed before the work starts.
- Casuals who come back after a long gap get a refresher or a re-induction.
- Fitness for work, drug and alcohol rules and emergency procedures are covered in the induction.
- Language, literacy and experience are considered, so the induction actually lands. A signature on a sheet is not understanding.
- You can produce, today, each provider's insurance certificates of currency and confirm who employs each worker.
- Supervisors and leading hands know their duties toward casuals and have been briefed on them.
- 0 to 9 points: Exposed: fix these first
- Several basics are missing or unproven. Start with three: a dated induction record for every casual, tickets checked at source, and a written split of who inducts what between you and your provider. They are the sort of records you would be asked for if a worker were hurt.
- 10 to 16 points: Gaps to close
- Your system works on good days. Close the gaps that depend on memory: expiry tracking, refreshers for returning casuals and supervisor briefings. Ask your provider for evidence, not assurances.
- 17 to 21 points: Solid, with edges
- A sound base. Tighten the answers you marked 'partly' and make sure the records would stand up if someone else had to find them. Run this audit each quarter and whenever you change provider.
- 22 and above points: Strong
- You are doing what most sites mean to do. Keep it that way: audit again each quarter, after any incident or near miss, and whenever the work or the provider changes.
This audit is a conversation starter built from the duties described by Safe Work Australia and SafeWork NSW. It is not legal advice, not an audit of your site and not an assessment of compliance with the WHS Act. For that, speak to your WHS adviser.
What a good induction record looks like
- Who inducted the worker, and who they work for.
- The date, the site and the version of the induction used.
- What it covered: hazards, site rules, emergency arrangements, reporting and the right to stop work.
- Tickets and licences sighted, verified at source, with their expiry dates.
- The worker's confirmation, and your supervisor's.
- When it needs refreshing.
Verify at source
Check NSW licences on Verify NSW, the public place to look up and verify NSW licences and registrations.3 High risk work licences last five years, and interstate licences are not automatically recognised in NSW.4 A photo of a card tells you what a card said once.
What 'inducted by us before day one' means
Every worker is safety-inducted by Smart Industrial before they step on your site. Then they do yours. Two layers, fewer surprises at the gate.
Our induction covers the basics every site needs: hazard and incident reporting, isolation and permit discipline, PPE, fitness for work, and our backing to stop an unsafe job. Visa (VEVO) checks, National Police Checks and pre-employment medicals are completed in-house, and a qualified tradesperson tests the trade skills. The detail is on The Smart Standard.
How it works
A simple fix plan
You do not need a new system. You need three fixes, in writing.
Pick your three lowest answers
Fix what is unproven before what is hard.
Put each one in writing
A name, a date and a record. If it is not written down, it is a habit, not a system.
Ask your provider for evidence
Records, certificates of currency, ticket evidence and induction content. Not assurances.
Run the audit again in a quarter
And after any incident, near miss or change of provider.
Having worked with Tyler at Smart Industrial the past couple of months I have nothing but good things to say, he has gone above and beyond to ensure top service and the quality of contractors provided has been spot on. Highly recommend.
Questions
Induction questions
Is the host or the labour hire provider responsible for induction?
Both have duties. Under the model WHS laws the agency and the host are each a PCBU, neither can transfer its duties to the other, and they must consult, co-operate and coordinate.1 In practice, agree in writing who delivers which part of the induction, then check that it happened.
Does a site induction replace a provider induction?
No. A site induction covers your hazards, your rules and your emergency arrangements. A provider induction covers the worker's general safety knowledge and how to raise a concern. Two layers work better than one, and each one catches what the other misses.
How often should casual workers be re-inducted?
There is no single rule. Re-induct when the site, the work or the hazards change, and after a long gap away. Many sites set a time limit in their own procedures, so check yours and apply it to casuals the same way you apply it to employees.
What records should I keep?
A dated record for each worker: who inducted them, what it covered, which tickets were sighted and verified, and when each expires. Keep it where a supervisor can find it on the day, not in someone's inbox.
Is this audit legal advice?
No. It is a conversation starter built from the duties Safe Work Australia and SafeWork NSW describe. It does not assess your compliance with the WHS Act and it is not an audit of your site. For that, speak to your WHS adviser.
What do you do differently?
Every worker is safety-inducted by Smart Industrial before they step on your site, with their visa (VEVO) check, National Police Check and pre-employment medical completed in-house and their trade skills tested by a qualified tradesperson. You then run your site induction on top. Details are on The Smart Standard.
Sources and notes
- Safe Work Australia: Labour hire, WHS duties. Agency and host are each a PCBU, cannot transfer their duties to each other, and must consult, co-operate and coordinate. Includes information, instruction, training, supervision and induction. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- SafeWork NSW: Contractors and labour hire. NSW guidance for hosts and labour hire agencies. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- NSW Government: Verify NSW. The place to look up and verify NSW licence and registration information. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- SafeWork NSW: High risk work licences. Licences last five years. Interstate licences are not automatically recognised in NSW; transfers are possible if the licence is current or within 12 months of expiry. Accessed 3 October 2026.
Ready when you are
Want inducted tradespeople without the chasing?
Tell us the trades, the tickets and the site. Every worker is safety-inducted by Smart Industrial before they step on your site.