Right for Victorian Workers to Work from Home

On 2 August 2025, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced the Victorian Labor Government’s proposal to introduce a right for Victorian employees to work from home. In the government’s published media announcement, it stated the bill would ensure that ‘if you can reasonably do your job from home, you will have the right to do so for at least two days a week – public sector or private sector.’

In 2025, more than a third of Australian workers and 60 percent of Australian workers in professional industries regularly worked from home.

This article provides an update on the status of the proposal and aims to shed some light on what, specifically, is proposed.

Context

In recent year, a natural consequence of the flexibility afforded by technological advances and work arrangements in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, various industrial bodies across the country have continued to advocate for the introduction of an enforceable right for employees to work from home. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) in its 2023-24 Modern Award Reviewagreed with that position in noting that Australia’s modern awards risked becoming outdated by way of overly prescriptive requirements around work hours, both in regard to employee entitlements and penalties for employers. That review resulted in the FWC initiating hearings and accepting industry submissions as part of a specific review of the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020, which covers more than 1.8 million Australians, with the intention of rendering it the first modern award to entrench hybrid work arrangements. At the time of writing, those hearings are ongoing.

Since its 2 August 2025 proposal, the Department of Premier and Cabinet has proceeded to consult with various industry stakeholders as to the precise scope and application of the bill to be read. The government’s statement that the ‘consultation process won’t determine whether working from home should be a right. We’re already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it…’ drew considerable media comment. Areas of the legal fraternity and some workplace relations specialists voiced concerns around how any such law could operate, in light of Victoria having referred oversight of its industrial relations to the Commonwealth initially under the Kennett government and subsequently having formalised alignment of such arrangements under the Commonwealth’s Fair Work Act in 2009 (FW Act). How did the Allan Government propose its new laws would operate to the exclusion of the FW Act and could they survive constitutional challenge?

Update

On 4 March 2026 Victorians were provided some clarity as to how the bill was proposed to be implemented. The Allan Government has now announced that the bill will be introduced to parliament on 1 July 2026 in the form of an amendment to Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (EO Act) and ‘will come into effect on 1 September.’ Allan has stated that while the right to work from home will apply regardless of the size of the employer’s enterprise, the new law will have a delayed commencement of 1 July 2027 for small business employers, namely those employers with fewer than 15 employees.

Currently, the EO Act in sections 17 and 19 expressly provides that employers must approve reasonable requests for flexible work arrangements from parents and carers, insofar as those requests relate to their ability to satisfy their duties as parents and carers. In turn, the National Employment Standards provide for a right in section 65 of the FW Act for certain employees to request flexible working arrangements. Notably, there is no onus on employers under the FW Act to approve such flexible working arrangements, provided they have reasonable business grounds to refuse an employee’s request.

On the basis of the Allan Government’s recent announcement, it appears likely the new law will create an enforceable workplace right under the FW Act.

What this might mean for employers

Upon commencement of the new law, where a Victorian employer refuses, or prevents its employee from making a reasonable request to work from home two days a week, or takes any other such adverse action against an employee as a result of their proposing to do so, they will expose themselves to a general protections claim before the FWC.

As such, while the new law extends the WFH-request entitlement to all employees wishing to call on it in the workplace, in practice, it does not affect how employers manage their current risk under the FW Act’s general protections scheme. Where an employer can establish reasonable business grounds to refuse such a request, a refusal is unlikely to constitute adverse action.

However, the added layer of exposure for Victorian employers by way of the law being introduced as an amendment to the EO Act, is that employers have a positive duty under the EO Act to eliminate discrimination in their workplace. If a Victorian employer is found to have refused, or prevented a reasonable request to work from home on the same basis described above, the employee can raise a complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) and have it conciliated, or alternatively, apply directly to the VCAT to have the matter heard. The EO Act also provides for limited circumstances in which the EOC (or other such authorised individual under the EO Act) may bring proceedings against employers for offences under the EO Act. It is not yet clear whether additional offences are contemplated by the Allan Government to be added to the EO Act in respect of employers found to have breached the new law.

What to do now

What is clear however, is that employers should expect a significant increase from September 2026 in requests from employees to work from home and increased scrutiny of their responses to such requests. Further, as a result of the proposed new law and foreshadowed change to modern awards on the matter of hybrid working arrangements, employers should prepare to review any workplace policies and employment contracts addressing these matters to ensure compliance with the new scheme and protection against future claims.

We look forward to reviewing the Allan Government’s proposed bill upon its being made available and assisting employers and employees alike in navigating this significant change in the Victorian workplace relations space.

If you would like to discuss the matters above in further detail, please get in touch.

Author: Ben Schier

Published: 20 May 2026

The information in this article is general in nature and is not to be relied upon as legal advice. As always, we recommend you seek thorough legal advice to consider your own circumstances and determine whether the information contained in this article is applicable to you. This article is current as at the date of publishing but will not be updated as circumstances change.