The PC estimated that there were approximately 843,900 independent contractors in 1998, dropping to 787,600 in 2004 – a reduction from 10.1 per cent in 1998 to 8.2 per cent of total employed persons in 2004.39
The PC found that since 2004 the proportion of independent contractors has remained at 8.2 per cent of total employment indicating that the numbers of independent contractors have grown at a similar rate to other forms of employment in this period.
However, this data is subject to qualifications. It is based on the ABS Forms of Employment Survey, which included independent contractors in all five categories of workers that it covers.
The PC has applied a number of tests, and inferred the estimate for 2004 using the ABS surveys in 1998 and 2001, which are not strictly comparable. In addition, the PC does not include ‘owner managers who employ others’ as independent contractors. Despite the variation in figures, the PC concludes that independent contractors represent the second largest group of non-traditional workers after casuals.
Labour Hire
Labour hire is a form of indirect employment relationship in which an agency supplies workers to a workplace controlled by a third party (the host), usually in return for a fee from the host.
Labour hire figures have been difficult to obtain over recent years. The most recent ABS data on numbers employed through labour hire arrangements suggests that 3.9 per cent of employees (290,100) were on-hired through agencies in 2002.40 This represents a tripling of the proportion of labour hire employees from 1.3 per cent in 199841 and a quadrupling from 0.8 per cent in 1990.42
The 2005 report of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire Employment in Victoria identified a range of factors affecting the workplace health and safety of labour hire workers.43 These included:
uncertainty with the delineation of OHS responsibilities between labour hire agencies and host employers; and
limited provision of training by labour hire agencies or host employers.
The Inquiry reported that the greatest use of labour hire was in traditional blue collar industries, and that in Victoria, labour hire was most frequently used in the industries of mining/construction, manufacturing, education and health and community services.44
