Find Transport and Logistics Subcontractors in Australia

Home » Find Subcontractors » Transport and logistics

Early access open

Transport carries an obligation that most sectors do not: chain of responsibility. If you consign, pack, load or receive freight, the law places duties on you regardless of who is driving, and subcontracting does not shed them.

This page covers what gets subcontracted in this sector, the credentials worth confirming, and how a job runs on Workforce Marketplace. Early access is open.

What gets subcontracted

The work most often subcontracted covers:

Line haul and interstate freight on a contract or per-trip basis
Local distribution and last mile delivery
Specialist transport, including oversize, dangerous goods and refrigerated
Warehousing, pick and pack, and inventory handling
Container transport and port drayage
Plant and equipment float work
Driver supply during peak and seasonal demand

Credentials that matter here

The licences and competencies to confirm are:

Heavy Vehicle Licence at the correct class: MR, HR, HC or MC, issued by the state roads authority
Dangerous Goods Driver Certificate (ADG) where the load requires it, plus Dangerous Goods Awareness for handling staff
Fatigue Management, Heavy Vehicle, and evidence that work diaries are actually being kept
Load Restraint Certificate, which matters more than most consignors realise
High Risk Work Licence, Forklift (LF) for warehouse and yard operations
MSIC where the work involves port access
Goods in transit and public liability insurance at a level matched to the consignment value

Chain of responsibility is the substance here. A consignor who sets a delivery time that cannot be met lawfully is exposed regardless of who is behind the wheel. Ask the operator how they manage fatigue and mass, and keep the answer, because that record is part of your own due diligence.

What to confirm before work starts

An active ABN. Where a supplier does not quote one, you are generally required to withhold 47 per cent of the payment and remit it to the ATO. Their GST registration also tells you whether the price should carry it.

That the credential is held by the entity you are contracting with. A person can hold a qualification while the business you are paying holds nothing. Check the name on the document against the name on the invoice.

Insurance appropriate to the scope. Public liability is the common one. Depending on the work you may also need professional indemnity, and workers compensation if they carry their own staff.

That the engagement is genuinely a contract for services. Since the Fair Work amendments the test looks at the real substance of the relationship rather than the label on the paperwork, and getting it wrong creates back-pay, superannuation and payroll tax exposure. Contractor vs employee in Australia sets out how it now works.

Writing a scope that gets comparable quotes

Transport quotes need the operating conditions stated, not just the rate. Set out the lane, frequency and volume, whether the rate is per kilometre, per trip or per pallet, who pays for waiting time and what the free time is, who is responsible for loading and restraint, what the insurance position is on the goods and to what value, and what the fuel adjustment mechanism is if any.

How it works on Workforce Marketplace

Post the scope with the payment structure it actually uses, whether that is fixed price, hourly, daily, quoted or split into milestones for staged work. Subcontractors apply, and you compare them side by side rather than chasing callbacks.

Every account is ABN-verified at sign-up. Beyond that, subcontractors can submit licences, certifications and insurance for verification, which we review rather than grant automatically. Their profile shows the status against each credential without showing the document, the licence number or the ABN. Verification is opt-in, so a profile may hold credentials that have not been submitted, and it reflects the document as at the date it was reviewed rather than standing indefinitely.

Applying for work costs nothing and there are no leads to buy. Payment runs through Stripe, and Workforce Marketplace never stores your card or bank details.