Insurables — Australian business risk, sourced and dated

Nursing agencies: workers compensation requirements in Australia

Statutory cover for injury to workers, arranged through each state or territory scheme rather than on the open market.

Data as at

Verified requirements, by state

  • Licence liability condition: No licence condition, because there is no licence. The obligation that does bite is an employer one: most employers in NSW must hold a workers compensation policy unless an exemption applies, and an agency employing or hiring nurses full time, part time or casually is an employer for that purpose. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 Building Commission NSW · 2026-08-13
  • Licence evidence required: A workers compensation policy as an employer, and whatever the health service being supplied into demands under its contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 Building Commission NSW · 2026-08-13
  • Licensing body: No separate licence exists for a nursing agency in New South Wales. The individual nurses supplied are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra and carry that registration’s own insurance requirement; the agency as a business is not separately licensed. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 Building Commission NSW · 2026-08-13
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, VIC included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, needs a LABOUR HIRE LICENCE in Victoria. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, QLD included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, needs a LABOUR HIRE LICENCE in Queensland. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. WA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. WA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, WA included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, would need a labour hire licence in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia or the ACT if it supplies workers there — WA runs no such scheme. WA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. SA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. SA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, SA included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, needs a LABOUR HIRE LICENCE in South Australia. SA · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, TAS included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, would need a labour hire licence in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia or the ACT if it supplies workers there — TAS runs no such scheme. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, ACT included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, needs a LABOUR HIRE LICENCE in the ACT. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition of the kind people expect. The distinction worth understanding: labour hire legislation EMPOWERS a regulator to impose insurance conditions on an individual licence, but no automatic condition requiring insurance across all licences was located in the Acts or regulations. What the Queensland regulation does require is DISCLOSURE — an applicant must state whether they are insured under a WorkCover policy or licensed as a self-insurer, and give the policy number. That is an application information requirement, not a licence condition, and the difference matters: disclosing you have no cover is not itself a breach. NT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Workers compensation as an ordinary employer, which is mandatory in every state regardless of labour hire status. Beyond that, whatever the health service being supplied into demands under contract — which in practice is usually more than the law requires. NT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: No separate nursing agency licence exists anywhere in Australia, NT included. Two other regimes reach the business instead. The NURSES it supplies are registered individually with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, which carries its own professional indemnity requirement — but that follows the nurse, not the agency. And the AGENCY, because it supplies workers to a host, would need a labour hire licence in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia or the ACT if it supplies workers there — NT runs no such scheme. NT · effective 2026-08-24 State labour hire licensing authorities · 2026-08-24

What contracts commonly ask for

Principals and head contractors set their own insurance requirements, and those are frequently higher than a licence condition. The requirement that binds is the higher of the two, and both have to be read from the actual document.

What this cover costs

This site publishes no cost benchmark for this cover. A benchmark needs a real sample of documents, and none is published until the sample is large enough to compute a median honestly. A benchmark from a handful of policies is a guess with a decimal point.

Sources