The Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia has issued penalties totalling AUD 287,500 (USD 180,509) on a horticulture company and its director for failing to comply with licence obligations, following legal action by the Labour Hire Authority (LHA).

The Court found Nirrorn Labour Pride, which provided workers to Victorian farms, contravened the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 (Vic) by failing to notify the LHA of several, repeated changes in company directors and that a director was no longer a fit and proper person.

“Ensuring we have fit and proper people running Victorian labour-hire companies is an important way of protecting workers and improving the industry’s integrity,” labour-hire licensing commissioner Steve Dargavel said in a press release.

As well as the penalties imposed on Nirrorn, company director Sokheng Seng was penalised AUD 57,500 (USD 36,101) for his involvement in the contraventions.

In Nirrorn’s labour-hire licence application in 2022, Seng was listed as the only nominated officer or relevant person at the company.

The court found that in late 2022 and early 2023, Nirrorn had repeatedly swapped company directors between Seng and another person several times without notifying LHA.

Seng was also an officer of a separate company, Monorom Labours Power Pty Ltd, that had their labour-hire licence cancelled by LHA in January 2024. This decision meant Seng was no longer a fit and proper person under the Act.

“Labour hire workers in the horticulture industry are among Victoria’s most vulnerable, so the industry is a key focus for our expanded compliance and enforcement program,” Dargavel said.