The test for determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee continues to trouble Australian businesses.   This is because there is no single factor which is determinative.  It is necessary to weigh all the relevant factors and consider the totality of the relationship between the parties.

However in considering the various factors, a number of recent cases have focussed attention on whether the person is working in the business of another (an employee), or conducting his or her own business in the pursuit of profit as an entrepreneur (an independent contractor).

A recent Full Federal Court decision, Tattsbet Limited v Morrow, suggests that this approach deflects attention from the central question.   In the leading judgment, Justice Jessup said that the central question is not whether the person is an entrepreneur: it is whether he or she is an employee.