Labour Hire Workers’ Compensation in Queensland: Casuals, ABN Workers and Suing the Host

Casual workers are covered

Under section 11 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), a worker is a person who works under a contract and is an employee for PAYG withholding purposes. A casual employee is an employee, so a casual injured at work has the same WorkCover rights as a full-time worker: medical costs, weekly payments, rehabilitation and a lump sum for permanent impairment. It does not matter how few shifts you had or how new you were.

Labour hire: who is your employer?

WorkCover Queensland’s guidance states that people hired out by labour hire agencies or group training organisations under a contract of service are workers. Your employer is the agency that has the contract with you and hires out your services, not the business where you do the work. So:

• your WorkCover claim is made on the agency’s policy
• the agency manages your return to work, often with the host’s help
• a damages claim against your employer is a claim against the agency.

Can you sue the host business?

Yes, if it was negligent. The host business controls the site, the equipment and the day-to-day work, so it owes you a duty of care even though it is not your employer. The agency keeps its own duty too, and cannot hand it over to the host.

In Carey-Schofield v Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Ltd [2024] QSC 60, a labour hire worker was injured at a mining accommodation village run by the host. The Supreme Court of Queensland found both the host and the labour hire agency liable. The host had not provided a safe system of work, and the agency had not picked up the problem when it inspected the site. The agency claimed contribution from the host under section 6 of the Law Reform Act 1995 (Qld), and the larger share of responsibility was placed on the host.

WorkCover payments are generally refunded from any damages you recover (section 270). Claims against the host follow the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), which has its own notice and time rules (see below).

How weekly payments work for casual and irregular hours

Weekly payments are a percentage of your normal weekly earnings. WorkSafe Queensland’s guidance says these are based on what you received from your current employer in the 12 months before the injury. If you had worked there for less than 12 months, the insurer may base them on what you earned while employed. So for a casual with irregular shifts, the busy and quiet weeks are averaged out over that period.

• Included: wages, regular overtime, higher duties, penalty rates and most allowances.
• Not included: travel, car, meal, living-away-from-home, clothing and tool allowances, superannuation and termination payments.

WorkCover Queensland’s page on weekly payments explains how the percentage steps down the longer you are off work. Keep your payslips or ask the agency for an itemised payroll report for the 12 months before the injury, because the insurer will use it.

Contractors and ABN holders: are you a worker?

An ABN, an invoice or a contract that calls you a subcontractor does not decide the question. You are a worker if you are an employee for PAYG withholding purposes. WorkCover Queensland points employers to the ATO’s common law principles, which look at the rights and obligations in your whole working arrangement: who controls the work, whether you can delegate it, whether you are paid for time or for a result, who supplies the tools and equipment, and who bears the commercial risk.

Schedule 2 of the Act also treats some contractors as workers. For example, a contractor is a worker if the work is not part of a trade or business the contractor regularly carries on, and the contractor does part of the work personally or does not sublet or employ others (schedule 2, part 1, section 3). In Foord v Workers’ Compensation Regulator [2025] QIRC 27, a man who did property work in exchange for a place to stay, water and power was found to be a worker under that rule.

An example from racing

Racing Queensland’s WorkCover guide for trainers says trackwork riders and ground staff are likely to be workers under the Act regardless of having an ABN or sending invoices. It lists “they have an ABN, so I’m not responsible for their WorkCover” as a common misconception. The same thinking applies in construction, transport, cleaning and many other industries.

If you really are running your own business

A genuine sole trader, partner or company director is not covered by their clients’ WorkCover. They can buy their own Workplace Personal Injury Insurance from WorkCover Queensland, which covers weekly benefits, medical and rehabilitation costs, and a lump sum for permanent impairment, but not common law claims. If someone else’s negligence injured you, you may still have a claim against them.

Gig and platform workers

Section 11 can also include a regulated worker under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), but only where a Fair Work minimum standards order, guideline or collective agreement covers them and a regulation prescribes them as workers. See our guide to gig economy injuries.

What decides how much a claim is worth

• the injury, how it settles and your impairment rating
• your earnings history, including irregular or seasonal work
• whether you can return to the same type of work
• whether the agency, the host, or both were negligent
• any reduction for your own share of the blame (section 305H).

Our claim estimator explains how Queensland damages are made up.

Time limits

WorkCover6 months Host claim notice9 months Damages3 years

WorkCover claim. Lodge within six months after your entitlement arises, usually the day a doctor first assesses the injury (section 131). WorkCover can accept a late claim for a mistake, absence from Queensland or other reasonable cause, but it does not have to.

Claim against the host. Part 1 of the notice of claim under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) is due within nine months of the injury, or one month after you first instruct a lawyer and the host is identified, whichever is earlier.

Court proceedings. Generally within three years of the injury (Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), section 11). See time limits for workers’ compensation claims.

What to do if you are injured as a labour hire, casual or ABN worker

1. Step 1 Get medical treatment and tell the doctor it happened at work.
2. Step 2 Report the injury to the host supervisor and to the labour hire agency. Do not assume one will tell the other.
3. Step 3 Write down the names of the host business, the agency, your supervisor and any witnesses.
4. Step 4 Keep your contract, timesheets, payslips or invoices. They show both your earnings and how the work was controlled.
5. Step 5 Lodge your WorkCover claim with a work capacity certificate. If you have an ABN, lodge anyway and let the insurer decide whether you are a worker. See our step-by-step guide.
6. Step 6 Get legal advice before accepting any lump sum, and early if a host business may be at fault.