ABSTRACT
While the term ‘labour hire’ is of relatively recent origin in Australia,1 the use of agencies or companies specialising in the supply and provision of workers to client companies and organisations dates back to at least the 1950s. The contemporary form of the labour hire or agency employment industry in Australia can be comprehended as the result of at least three particular antecedents:
The traditional agency employment industry ‘Temping agencies’ have long specialised in the provision of workers to help client companies cope with fluctuations in demand or the temporary absence of employees. Generally these agencies first emerged in order to provide clerical, administrative and other white-collar support staff – staff who could normally walk into organisations with standard secretarial and administrative skills. Many of these firms have flourished in recent years and many have expanded the range of staff they can provide well beyond the original office temps that dominated ‘labour hire’ prior to the 1990s. Contemporary examples of these firms in Australia include Drake Personnel, Hays Metier and Kelly Services.
