Screening subcontractors and labour-hire workers: who is responsible?
Under the Aged Care Act and the NDIS, the registered provider remains responsible for screening subcontracted and labour-hire workers. Here is what that means.
Many care providers rely on subcontractors, labour-hire agencies and digital platforms to fill shifts. A common and dangerous assumption is that, because someone else employs the worker, the screening is someone else's problem. Under current rules, it is not.
The responsibility stays with you
Under the Aged Care Act 2024, the registered provider is responsible for ensuring every Aged Care worker meets the screening requirements, regardless of who employs them. The definition of an Aged Care worker explicitly includes workers engaged through:
- Subcontractors
- Associated providers
- Digital platforms
- Labour-hire arrangements
The same principle applies in disability: the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission holds registered providers accountable for the conduct of the workers delivering supports, including contracted ones. Each of those workers in a risk-assessed role needs a valid NDIS Worker Screening Check.
The accountability does not transfer
Using an agency or platform does not move the screening obligation onto them. If a subcontracted worker delivers your funded care without a valid check, that is the registered provider's compliance gap, not the agency's.
Why this is hard in practice
Subcontracted and labour-hire workers are exactly the workers a provider has least visibility over:
- They arrive at short notice to fill a shift.
- Their credentials sit in someone else's system.
- The same worker may come through different agencies, each presenting their own paperwork.
Collecting and checking those credentials before each engagement, under time pressure, is where compliance most often slips.
A practical workflow
- Set the standard up front. Make valid screening a condition of engagement for every agency and subcontractor, in writing.
- Sight the evidence before the worker starts, not after. A pending check needs the interim arrangements (application lodged, supervision, statutory declaration) covered in the Aged Care Act provider checklist.
- Keep your own records. Your retention obligations apply to subcontracted workers too.
- Re-check currency if the same worker returns months later.
How a Career Passport helps
When a labour-hire or subcontracted worker holds a Career Passport, you can review their already-checked credentials instantly, regardless of who employs them this week, instead of restarting the paperwork each time. Koora pre-clears and keeps the records organised and current; you still sight the evidence and make the engagement decision. For the wider system, see worker compliance tracking for providers.
Authoritative sources
- Aged Care Act 2024 on the Federal Register of Legislation
- Screening requirements for the Aged Care workforce, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- NDIS Worker Screening Check, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
This is general information, not compliance advice. Always confirm requirements with the relevant regulator, and remember that providers keep the legal responsibility to sight credentials and decide who can work.
We work hard to keep it accurate, but the rules change and we will not always get every detail right. If you think something here needs updating, email us at resources@koora.care. We would genuinely rather know, because we all do better when we help each other get it right.
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