Labour hire runs on acronyms. One placement can involve a modern award, the host’s enterprise agreement, a White Card, a VOC, a working with children check, STP reporting and a state labour hire licence. This glossary explains the common terms in plain English. Terms marked (OnCrew) describe how OnCrew itself works.
A
Ahpra. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, which works with 15 National Boards to regulate registered health practitioners such as nurses. For healthcare placements, a worker’s registration is a credential to check and keep current.
Alternative compliance hours. Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law as amended from 1 August 2026, work and rest hours tailored to an operator’s business that the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) can approve through Alternative Compliance Accreditation – Fatigue (ACA-Fatigue), in place of standard hours. ACA-Fatigue replaces the old Basic and Advanced Fatigue Management modules; existing BFM and AFM accreditations stay valid until they expire, are cancelled or the operator moves to the new scheme. See HVNL.
Award interpretation. Applying the rules of an award or agreement to the hours actually worked to work out pay — which rate, penalty rates, overtime and allowances apply. It happens in payroll software or with payroll staff. OnCrew doesn’t interpret awards; it records and exports approved hours.
Axis (OnCrew). OnCrew’s rule-based insights layer. It reads activity data in the platform to surface insights and suggested follow-ups for a person to act on — for example, a 30-day reliability score. Its automated actions run in review-only mode, and it doesn’t power or rank Smart Fill.
B
Broken shift. A shift worked in two or more parts on the same day with an unpaid break in between, common in cleaning. Some awards pay an allowance for it — the Cleaning Services Award, for example, sets a broken shift allowance with limits on the break and the spread of hours. See the Cleaning Services Award guide.
C
Casual employee. Since 26 August 2024, under the Fair Work Act, an employee whose employment has no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work — judged on the real substance and practical reality of the relationship — and who is entitled to a casual loading or casual rate. A casual is still an employee. After 6 months (12 with a small business), a casual who believes they no longer fit the definition can use the employee choice pathway. See casual vs part-time.
Casual loading. An extra amount paid to casual employees instead of paid leave and other entitlements — 25% under many awards. Pay slips must show loadings that can be separated from the hourly rate, or note that the rate includes them.
Chain of Responsibility (CoR). Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, the businesses and people who perform certain functions in a heavy vehicle transport task — such as employing a driver, operating the vehicle, scheduling goods or drivers’ work and rest hours, consigning, packing, loading or unloading — each have a primary duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of their transport activities. Driving itself isn’t a CoR function; drivers have their own duties. Applies where the HVNL applies.
Classification. The level a worker is assigned under an award, based on their skills, duties and responsibilities. Every rate flows from it, so check it again when someone’s role changes.
Contractor (independent contractor). Someone who provides services to a business rather than being employed by it. An ABN, an invoice or a contract label doesn’t decide whether someone is a contractor; the law looks at the whole arrangement, and tax and super use their own test. Some contractors must still be paid super. See sham contracting vs casual employment.
E
Employment basis. A field reported through Single Touch Payroll for each employee: full time (F), part time (P), casual (C), labour hire (L), voluntary agreement (V), death beneficiary (D) or non-employee (N). Labour hire (L) is for a contractor engaged to work for the payer’s client — not for an agency’s own casual employees, who are reported as casual.
Engagement basis (OnCrew). The field where an admin records whether your business engages a worker as an employee (PAYG) or a contractor (ABN), or leaves them as not classified yet. It records your decision; it isn’t a legal determination.
Enterprise agreement (EBA). An agreement about pay and conditions made at the enterprise level and approved by the Fair Work Commission. Before approving it, the Commission must be satisfied it passes the better off overall test (BOOT) against the relevant award. Where an enterprise agreement applies, the award generally doesn’t, though base pay can’t fall below the award’s.
F
Fair Work Commission (FWC). The national workplace relations tribunal. It makes and varies modern awards, approves enterprise agreements, runs the annual wage review and can make regulated labour hire arrangement orders.
Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). The national workplace regulator. It gives advice, publishes pay guides and tools, investigates complaints and enforces workplace laws.
Fatigue management. Controls that stop people working while dangerously tired. For fatigue-regulated heavy vehicles, the HVNL sets work and rest limits; elsewhere, managing fatigue is part of the general WHS duty to manage risks. Rosters and records can show the hours, but the duty stays with the business.
G
Geofenced clock-in (OnCrew). At clock-in, OnCrew checks the worker’s phone location against the site. A clock-in outside the boundary is still recorded but flagged for review; clock-out is time-stamped but not location-checked. It shows where a clock-in happened — it isn’t proof of the hours worked. See geofenced clock-in.
H
High risk work licence (HRWL). A licence to do specified high risk work — classes include scaffolding, dogging, rigging, and operating certain cranes, forklifts and boom-type elevating work platforms. Issued by the WHS regulator in each state or territory.
Host. The business where a labour hire worker actually does the work. The labour hire business is the employer and is responsible for the worker’s pay and entitlements. Hosts have WHS duties to the same worker, and in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia must only use licensed labour hire providers.
HVNL (Heavy Vehicle National Law). The law for heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes in the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, administered by the NHVR, covering fatigue, mass and dimensions, accreditation and the Chain of Responsibility. It hasn’t commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, although it applies to vehicles from there when they travel into HVNL states. An amended HVNL commenced on 1 August 2026, including a new Heavy Vehicle Accreditation scheme and changes to fatigue rules and work diaries.
I
Induction. Training before someone starts work — general construction induction (the White Card), an employer’s own safety induction, and site-specific inductions run by the business that controls the site. In OnCrew, an agency can set up its own induction that workers complete during onboarding as a quiz with a pass mark; site inductions run by a host are separate.
L
Labour hire. An arrangement where a business supplies workers to another business (the host). The labour hire business employs and pays its labour hire employees, who work for the host.
Labour hire licence. A licence a labour hire provider needs to operate in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia or the ACT. There is no national scheme and the schemes are separate, so a provider working in more than one of these places needs to check each. South Australia extended its scheme to all industries from 29 January 2026, with providers in newly covered industries given until 29 July 2026 to become licensed. Check your own state’s current position; see labour hire licensing in Australia.
M
Modern award. A document made by the Fair Work Commission that sets minimum pay and conditions for an industry or occupation — for example the Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020) or the Cleaning Services Award (MA000022). Most rate changes begin from the first full pay period on or after 1 July each year. See the construction award guide.
N
National Employment Standards (NES). The minimum entitlements for employees in the national workplace relations system, including maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working, the casual employment rules, parental leave, annual and personal leave, public holidays, super contributions, notice and redundancy pay, and the Fair Work and casual information statements. Awards, agreements and contracts can’t provide less.
NDIS worker screening check. A check, done by a state or territory worker screening unit on behalf of the NDIS Commission, of whether a person poses a risk to people with disability. It’s needed for risk-assessed roles with registered NDIS providers, among others, and is valid for up to 5 years.
Notifiable incident. Under the model-based WHS laws, a death, a serious injury or illness as defined in the law, or a dangerous incident. The business must notify the WHS regulator immediately. Victoria has its own rules. Recording an incident in your own system, including OnCrew, does not notify the regulator. See WHS inspection records.
O
Ordinary hours. The hours an award or agreement treats as normal working hours, paid at the ordinary rate. Work outside them — by time of day, day of the week or total hours — can attract penalty rates or overtime.
P
Payday Super. From 1 July 2026, employers pay super guarantee for each payday rather than quarterly, and it must generally reach the fund within 7 business days. See Payday Super for labour hire agencies.
PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking). The model WHS law term for the business that owes the primary duty of care. In labour hire, the labour hire business and the host are both PCBUs with duties to the same worker; neither can contract out of or transfer them, and they must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other.
Penalty rates. Higher rates for work at particular times, such as weekends, public holidays or late nights, set by the award or agreement. How they combine with casual loading varies by award — under some awards, the casual weekend rate already includes the loading.
Q
Qualifying earnings. From 1 July 2026, the earnings that super guarantee is calculated on. They include ordinary time earnings — such as casual loading and shift penalties — while overtime is generally excluded where ordinary hours are clearly identified.
R
RDO (rostered day off). A paid day off built up by working slightly longer days through a cycle. Under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, for example, 38 ordinary hours a week are averaged over a four-week cycle, with 0.4 of an hour of each 8-hour day accruing toward the RDO.
Reliability score (OnCrew). A 30-day score out of 100 that Axis calculates for each worker from completed shifts, no-shows and lateness — weighted 70%, 20% and 10%. It’s an insight on the worker’s profile for a person to read; it doesn’t change how Smart Fill ranks anyone. See casual staff reliability scores.
RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol). Training required to serve alcohol in licensed venues. Each state and territory sets its own requirements, so check the liquor regulator where the work happens.
S
Same job, same pay. The informal name for regulated labour hire arrangement orders under Part 2-7A of the Fair Work Act. When the Fair Work Commission makes an order covering a host, labour hire employees working for that host must be paid no less than the protected rate they would receive under the host’s enterprise agreement or other relevant instrument.
Sham contracting. Under sections 357 to 359 of the Fair Work Act: misrepresenting employment as independent contracting (unless the employer reasonably believed it was a contract for services), dismissing an employee to re-engage them as a contractor for the same work, or knowingly making false statements to persuade them to become a contractor. Separate provisions (sections 359B and 359C) stop employers dismissing or misleading permanent employees to re-engage them as casuals.
Single Touch Payroll (STP). How employers report pay, PAYG withholding and super information to the ATO from STP-enabled payroll software, on or before each payday. It reports amounts paid, split into payment types, plus each employee’s employment basis — not hours worked. Employers finalise each employee’s data by 14 July. OnCrew doesn’t lodge STP. See STP for casual workforces.
Site requirements (OnCrew). The credentials a site needs, set per site. Each requirement is set to warn or enforce: a missing or expired enforced requirement blocks a worker from being assigned there unless an admin overrides it, and overrides are logged; a warn requirement flags the gap without blocking. Sometimes called a compliance gate.
Smart Fill (OnCrew). OnCrew’s shift-matching shortlist for admins. It rules out workers who aren’t compliant for the site, Ready to Work or available, then scores the rest on role fit, site and client history, distance and recency, showing the reasons. A person decides who is offered the shift. It doesn’t use Axis or the reliability score. See Smart Fill.
Standard 11. Recognised Standard 11, Training in coal mines, issued for Queensland coal mines under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999. It isn’t a national mining induction. See mining and FIFO workforce management.
Super guarantee (SG). The minimum super employers must pay for eligible workers — 12% of qualifying earnings, paid for each payday from 1 July 2026. Contractors paid mainly for their labour count as employees for super guarantee purposes, even with an ABN.
T
TFN declaration. The form a new employee gives their employer with their tax file number and tax details. An employer reporting through STP-enabled software no longer sends it to the ATO, but must keep it and store it securely.
V
VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online). The Department of Home Affairs service that lets visa holders, employers and others check visa conditions, including work conditions. OnCrew records the visa details a worker gives and their consent to a check; it doesn’t connect to VEVO, so the check itself is done by your office.
VOC (verification of competency). An assessment that a worker can competently operate specific plant or do a specific task, often required by a site or principal contractor on top of any licence. A current licence doesn’t always mean a current VOC, so the two are tracked separately.
W
Wage theft. A common name for the criminal offence in section 327A of the Fair Work Act, in force since 1 January 2025: intentionally underpaying an employee. Honest mistakes are not the criminal offence, but they still have to be back-paid and can lead to civil penalties. See avoiding underpayment claims.
White Card. The construction induction card a worker must have before starting work on a construction site, issued after the course ‘Prepare to work safely in the construction industry’. White Cards are recognised Australia-wide.
WHS (work health and safety). The legal framework of duties to keep workers and others safe at work. Safe Work Australia’s model WHS laws have been implemented in every jurisdiction except Victoria, which has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004; some jurisdictions have made variations.
WWCC (working with children check). A check for people doing child-related work, run separately by each state and territory under its own name and rules. In New South Wales it’s issued by the Office of the Children’s Guardian and lasts 5 years. For cleaning and hospitality work it usually applies to particular contracts, such as schools, rather than to a whole workforce. See WWCC tracking.
Official sources checked for this glossary (October 2026): FWO — casual employees · FWO — National Employment Standards · FWO — protected pay rates · FWO — sham contracting · FWO — pay slips · FWC — better off overall test · Fair Work Act 2009 · ATO — STP employment basis · ATO — qualifying earnings · ATO — super for contractors · Safe Work Australia — model WHS laws · Safe Work Australia — labour hire WHS duties · Safe Work Australia — working on a construction site · WorkSafe Victoria — high risk work licence · NHVR — Heavy Vehicle National Law · NHVR — HVNL reform implementation · NHVR — ACA-Fatigue · NHVR — parties in the CoR · CBS SA — labour hire licensing reforms · Labour Hire Authority (Vic) · Labour hire licensing Queensland · WorkSafe ACT — labour hire licence · NDIS Commission — worker screening · Ahpra — what we do · Home Affairs — VEVO
