Door-to-door sellers: Worker or contractor?

Door-to-door sellers

A door-to-door seller performing work under a selling arrangement is not a worker of the hirer/vendor for WorkCover insurance purposes unless WorkSafe determines that that arrangement has been entered into with an intention of directly or indirectly avoiding or evading the payment of WorkSafe premium.

For WorkCover insurance purposes a door-to-door seller is someone who is engaged by a hirer/vendor under a contract or selling arrangement where all of these conditions apply:

1. The seller is engaged:
   • to sell goods door-to-door, or
   • to party plan on-sell goods, or
   • sell services ancillary to the sale or on-sale of goods referred to in either point above.
2. the seller is engaged in the sale or on-sale of goods including all moveable personal property other than money or livestock and including any removable fixtures of real estate; but not including services provided to any personal property or fixtures of real estate, for example, cladding and painting
3. the seller does not sell or on-sell goods to a body corporate
4. the seller is not an employee, but has an agency arrangement for the door-to-door sale or on-sale of goods directly to the public
5. the sale or on-sale of goods by the seller takes place either at a customer's residence, or at the customer's place of work, or elsewhere than at the vendor's trade premises or a place where goods of that sort are normally offered for sale
6. where the sale by the seller is made away from the vendor's trade premises, this cannot have been made as a consequence of the request of the customer or the agent of the customer
7. the original approach (that is, the initial physical attendance, not a telephone contact) leading to the sale must not be made at the vendor's premises
8. the sales made by the seller are either cash sales or credit sales but not sales on a monthly credit arrangement
9. goods purchased from the seller must be used by the purchaser solely for domestic purposes and must not include goods purchased to be further processed in the course of manufacture or goods purchased for commercial or industrial purposes
10. the seller must personally organise the direct sale of the goods to the end users of the goods.