• Is there a statutory right to work from home?

  At present, there is no statutory right to work from home in Australia.

  In Victoria, moves aimed at introducing such a right from 1 July 2027 (and 1 January 2028 for small businesses) have stalled for the moment. The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, introduced to the Victorian Parliament on 16 June 2026, would amend the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) to give eligible employees a statutory right to work from home for up to two days per week where it is reasonable to do so. The Bill has been referred to a select committee, but the Victorian Government has since confirmed it is unlikely to recall Parliament before the 28 November 2026 state election. This means that the future of the Bill will depend on the outcome of the election. 

  The working from home debate has also reached the Fair Work Commission (FWC). On 27 August 2026, following its long-running review of the Clerks Award, the FWC handed down a decision confirming that the Award should be amended to reflect the contemporary reality of remote and flexible working arrangements. The FWC subsequently released a draft determination for consultation, with interested parties invited to make submissions on the proposed clause.

  Following the consultation process, the FWC has now finalised the clause, which is effective from an employee's first full pay period starting on or after 26 October 2026. Importantly, the clause does not create a ‘right’ to work from home. Instead, employees have the right to request a working from home arrangement, which their employer may agree to. To make such a request, employees need to put it in writing and specify the day or days on which they propose to work from home.

  No other Australian jurisdiction has yet introduced a statutory right to work from home, or signalled plans to follow Victoria’s lead. But this is an evolving area of workplace law and it is possible other states could adopt a similar approach, and the FWC may consider introducing clauses similar to the new Clerks Award clause into other modern awards, giving employees the right to request working from home arrangements. Employers should keep a close eye on these developments as new obligations continue to emerge.

  In the meantime, while there is no general right to work from home, the FW Act already allows certain employees to request flexible working arrangements, including working from home, if they meet specific eligibility criteria, such as having caring responsibilities, a disability, being aged 55 or over or experiencing family or domestic violence. We discuss how employers should respond to these requests below.

• If an employee has the right to request a flexible work arrangement under the FW Act, can the employer refuse the request?

  Yes, but only on reasonable business grounds. Relevant factors may include cost, the capacity to accommodate the request by changing working arrangements (including those of other employees), and impacts on efficiency and production.

  For more detail on flexible working arrangements and the obligations imposed on employers under the Fair Work Act, please see our article: Responding to requests for flexible working arrangements. 

• What Work Health & Safety (WHS) risks arise for employers?

  The WHS duties of an employer under WHS and OHS laws extend to the performance of duties at a home office. This means that an employer must manage not only risks to physical safety at the home office but also the risk of psychosocial hazards at that workplace. 

  Resources on working from home published by SafeWork Australia can be found here. The types of hazards to be mindful of in a remote working context can include those relating to poor working environments (such as poor lighting and noise), poor workstation set-up (such as the absence of a proper desk and trip hazards) and prolonged sedentary work as well as fatigue.

  Further, working from home, or working in a workplace where there are few others around (in the workplace while others work from home), is recognised as a possible cause of Remote or Isolated Work, and of Poor Support in various Psychosocial Codes of Practice throughout Australia. 

  Employers need to implement reasonably practicable controls including effective communication, regular check-ins, buddy systems and ensuring employees have time to connect with colleagues. Employers should consult about the psychosocial risks and implement control measures in accordance with the relevant hierarchy of controls in their jurisdiction (as applicable).

• Is an employee entitled to workers compensation if they are injured while working from home?

  Potentially, yes, if the injury was suffered in the course of their employment. Under Australia’s no-fault workers compensation system, employees are not required to prove their injury arose out of their employers’ fault or negligence. 

  When an employer may be liable for injuries sustained while working from home was considered in the decisions of Vercoe v Local Government Association Workers Compensation Scheme [2024] SAET 91 and Hargreaves v Telstra Corporation Limited [2011] AATA 417. You can read about these cases, and workers compensation risks in the context of remote working, in our article: When will employers be liable for compensation for injuries sustained at home?

• Can an employer monitor an employee while working from home?

  Many employers use surveillance systems to monitor employee productivity, including while employees work from home. If you do, be mindful of legislative restrictions on those systems in certain jurisdictions.

  NSW and the ACT are the only two jurisdictions in Australia with legislation that addresses general and computer surveillance of employees – those being, the Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) and the Workplace Privacy Act 2011 (ACT). 

  Restrictions under this legislation include requirements to provide written notice (and comply with its terms) when monitoring an employee, and to have a surveillance policy in place (already circulated to employees) before conducting any computer surveillance. 

• Working hours and the right to disconnect – what do these mean for work from home arrangements?

  The boundaries between work and personal life can blur when working from home, and easy access to work devices at home may create pressure to remain connected and contactable. As a result, hours worked may trigger overtime and penalty rates (giving rise to underpayment claims), or the hours may be unreasonable and excessive, creating risks to health and safety.

  Employers need to turn their mind to their time and attendance systems and requirements and how these apply in the context of flexible hours worked from home. Safety hazards also need to be identified and risks eliminated or, if not reasonably practicable to do so, controlled. Continued contact may also infringe an employee’s right to disconnect, being the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact (or attempted contact) where such refusal is not unreasonable. For more details on the right to disconnect, please see our article: Preparing for... the "Right to Disconnect"

What should employers do next? 

If working from home is becoming a live issue for your organisation, it is time to start turning your mind to the following:

• What are your organisation’s obligations when considering work from home requests and what systems and processes are in place to ensure compliance with the FW Act where an employee has a right to request a flexible working arrangement? For FW Act flexible work requests, it is critical to have in place robust procedures to ensure that requests are considered in line with the FW Act requirements, including consultation about the request before any refusal and that a written response to the request is provided within 21 days of receipt. 
   
• Does your organisation’s WHS/OHS management system align with best practice and is it designed to assist your organisation to manage potential hazards and risks from work from home arrangements? Have you consulted about the risks and the control measures?
   
• For employees with working from home arrangements, what control measures to manage working hours, time and attendance and safety risks have you implemented, are they effective and how do you assess this?
   
• If you use surveillance to monitor productivity and attendance while working from home, does your organisation have suitable surveillance policies to manage privacy issues and to ensure surveillance complies with law?
   
• Do your policies, industrial instruments and contracts support work from home arrangements and do they need to be updated to reflect your organisation’s rights and obligations, including managing the right to disconnect?

^{[1] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/working-arrangements/latest-release}