All individuals, partnerships or bodies corporate (companies and other incorporated bodies) that carry on business as employment agents must be licensed under the Employment Agents Act 1976 (the Act). This includes traditional employment agencies and employment brokers, as well as booking agencies, babysitting agencies, housesitting agencies, and cleaning agencies. The Act does not allow the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to issue a licence in the name of a partnership or company. In these instances, the licence must be held by a natural person (an employee, an officer of a body corporate or a member of a firm) on behalf of the partnership or company.

You are considered to be ‘carrying on business’ as an employment agent if:

• you receive payment for helping people find employment or for finding employees for other people or businesses (whether you do this fulltime, part-time or just occasionally); or
• whether or not for reward, you place people in jobs and receive from the employer an ‘entrance fee’, periodical contribution or any other charge for your services.

Exemptions

The following are specifically exempted from the need to be licensed:

• newspaper publications;
• labour hire companies;
• Disability Employment Service Providers who are engaged under the Disability Services Grant Agreement with the Commonwealth. (This agreement falls within the Employment Agents Exemption Order 2002)
• people licensed under other Acts of Parliament to handle the employment of seamen; and
• State or Federal Government departments or instrumentalities.

Other exemptions from the Act can be granted by an Order in Council made by the Governor.