Working from home a legal right in Australian-first reform
Employees in Victoria will be legally allowed to demand to work from home two days a week if an Australian-first proposed law is passed.
The Victorian government has promised to introduce legislation to make working from home a right in 2026, in contrast to other states that want public servants to spend more time in the office.
The proposed law would apply to all public and private sector employees in Victoria who can reasonably do their job from home.
Yet to be determined are the legislation's definition of remote work, who can do it and the types of businesses the law would apply to, but the government promised to consult before its introduction to parliament in 2026.
It sets up a major contest with business groups in an election year, with Labor seeking a fourth consecutive term that polls indicate it's on track to win.
The November 2026 election will be the first as premier for Jacinta Allan, who lags opposition leader Brad Battin as preferred state leader.
Ms Allan said legislating the right to work from home was good for families and the economy.
"Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit," she said.
"If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right."
The coalition's push to end to working-from-home for public servants was partly blamed for its unsuccessful result at the May federal election, despite abandoning the policy before polling day.
New South Waled Premier Chris Minns has described remote-work provisions as a thing of the past but stopped short of seeking an end to working from home, instead ordering public servants to work principally in offices.
More than one-third of Australian employees usually work from home but that number swells to 60 percent of managers and people in professional services, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau says 43 percent who work from home do overtime, compared to one quarter of those who do not.
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