Australian state to enshrine work-from-home rights in law
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The law, which will come into effect on Sept 1, has faced criticism from business groups over fears it will deter investment in the state economy.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
MELBOURNE – Australia’s Victoria state is set to give people the legal right to work from home two days a week.
The law will come into effect on Sept 1, Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement on March 4.
The change will be enshrined in the Equal Opportunity Act and makes Victoria the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce work-from-home rights.
“Work from home works for families because it saves time and money and it gets more parents working,” said Ms Allan, who faces an election in November where she will try to lead her centre-left Labor Party to a fourth term in power.
The policy will apply to all workplaces, though businesses with fewer than 15 workers will have a delayed start of July 1, 2027, to allow them to prepare for the change.
The new policy has faced criticism from business groups over fears it will deter investment in the state economy.
Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, endured one of the world’s longest lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been slow to bounce back.
“A one-size-fits-all government mandate is the wrong approach,” Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said in a statement on March 4.
“With weak productivity growth, inflation rising and living standards under pressure, this proposal does nothing to address these real changes.”
The work-from-home policy is likely to form a central plank of Ms Allan’s election pitch.
A proposal by the opposition Liberal-National coalition to force public servants back to the office full-time was seen as one of the major reasons for its crushing defeat at the 2025 federal election.
The policy was so unpopular it was dumped mid-campaign. BLOOMBERG
