The Victorian Government’s proposal to legally protect work-from-home rights is open for public consultation.
The move follows Premier Jacinta Allan’s pledge earlier this month to introduce legislation allowing public and private sector workers to WFH at least two days a week.
“If you can do your job from home, we are making it your right,” Premier Jacinta Allan said.
Public consultation on the proposal opened Tuesday and runs until 28 September. “You can help us get the rules right by having your say,” said Allan.
Led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the consultation process will consider the types and sizes of businesses and organisations that will be covered by the legislation, as well as a definition of remote work and who is able to do it. It will also examine the real-world experiences of WFH including what’s fair, what’s practical, and what’s working.
“Consultation won’t determine whether working from home should be a right – we already know it should be. This is about making sure the rules are appropriate,” said Allan.
In a nod to former federal opposition leader Peter Dutton’s general election commitment to order all public servants back to the office five days a week – a commitment he was forced to rescind – Allan said: “One of the reasons work from home is at risk is because there are no rules – and workers don’t know where they stand.”
Spruiking the proposal at the Labor Party’s state conference, Allan cited the benefits gained from working from home. “It saves families money,” she said. Research from the Committee for Economic Development shows Australians on average can save $110 a week – $5,308 a year – by working remotely.
With the WFH commute often involving just a few thonged steps to the home office, Allan argued working remotely cuts traffic congestion. “Victorians are now spending less time commuting, saving more than three hours in their week on average,” she said.
WFH also allows more people to join the workforce. “Work from home supports women with children, carers and people with a disability to work.”
And – with an eye on the 2026 state election – Allan is acutely aware that WFH is popular. Indeed, more than a third of Australian workers regularly work from home.
Within the Australian Public Service, 61 per cent of employees worked from home at least part of the time in 2024 – an increase from 55 per cent during the pandemic and significantly higher than the 22 per cent recorded in 2019, according to the APS.
The more pressing issue is about public sector jobs
While welcoming the government’s proposal, Jiselle Hanna – Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union Victoria – told GN: “The government’s idea to legislate this is fine but the more pressing issue is about public sector jobs – which are currently under threat. You can’t work from home if you don’t have a job.”
“The government is looking to cut 6,500 public sector jobs via the Silver Review. Jacinta Allan is effectively giving with one hand and taking with the other,” she added.
Victoria’s public servants and others can share their views on the government’s WFH proposal through an online survey or submission at Engage Victoria.
Feedback and data gathered from the consultation activities – as well as legal policy advice – will inform the drafting of the WFH laws, which the government aims to introduce and pass next year.
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