Allan flags equal opportunity path to work-from-home proposal

The Age

a day ago

Andrew Stewart, professor of work and regulation at Queensland University of Technology, said he saw two key ways the legislation could be structured: one through the Equal Opportunity Act with a narrowed employee scope, and another where the government passes a broader law which may not be enforceable in the private sector.
Stewart said the proposed legislation was complicated by the fact that in 1996 the Kennett government handed its powers to regulate employment conditions to the Commonwealth – a deal that was renewed by state and federal Labor governments in 2009.
Carve-outs in workplace law exist for certain other pieces of legislation which can be altered by the Victorian government, such as anti-discrimination laws and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
'They could just go ahead and pass a law [enshrining work from home], understanding that it may not be enforceable in the private sector, and any attempt to enforce it might be met with a constitutional challenge,' Stewart said.
'Alternatively, they could include the right to work from home in the Equal Opportunity Act, but then there's a dilemma because it would be limited to workers for whom working from home is going to help with their caring responsibilities or managing a disability.'
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra called the change 'perplexing', considering the federal government was currently focused on boosting productivity through an economic reform roundtable.
'If Victoria moves away from the legislated national system, businesses will move interstate and jobs will be lost,' he said.
'If we want businesses to be productive – and to raise the economic prospects of everyone in this state and this country – we need to get out of their way and let them operate in a way that best suits their model.'
Guerra said the proposal could damage productivity and teamwork, and might create further inequity because only a small number of people would actually be able to work from home.
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'[Working from home] certainly works well in some contexts, but that should be determined by the employer in consultation with the employee,' he said.
Allan denied that the policy would create division within workplaces between those who could work from home and those that could not.
She said many people who had to come into work benefited from these arrangements through partners or friends who could take advantage of the opportunity.
Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari was supportive of the move, noting that 40 per cent of workers were already doing some variation of hybrid work, according to the Grattan Institute.
'Working from home is probably the greatest improvement to work-life balance since we won the weekend ... so for [Labor] to enshrine it, it's a big deal,' he said.
'There's some mistrust out there that people will be doing the wrong things [while working from home].
'But the truth is, it just makes people's lives easier. That's especially so for women – women's participation in the workforce has gone up a whole notch.'
Consultation on the laws will be led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. It will consider the type and size of businesses covered by the scheme, who can reasonably do their job from home, and must also arrive at an acceptable definition of what constitutes remote working.
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Daniel Victory, principal lawyer in employment and industrial law at Maurice Blackburn, called the topic of working from home a 'barbecue stopper' – it was the No.1 employment issue people wanted to talk about.
He said it would likely be easier for the government to enshrine hybrid work in law for those in the public sector under current workplace laws.
'Trying to enshrine a right [to work from home] for the private sector might be open to challenge, but we'll just have to wait and see what the legislation is and how it's framed,' he said.
'Even if an employer could challenge it, I don't know why they would challenge a right like this if it's reasonable ... any employer who doesn't want to allow work from home, it sort of like feels like they want to go back to the dinosaur ages.'
Gordon Legal head of industrial law Marcus Clayton said the legislation could be written in a way that covers a 'very substantial proportion' of the population, even if the provisions were woven into the anti-discrimination or health and safety laws.
'The key aspect about it is that it will put the onus on the employer to show that a person actually can't work from home, as opposed to just making it up and having an ideological objection to employees having the temerity to demand the right to work from home,' he said.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece told Nine's Today program it was clear that hybrid work arrangements were not going away but it was important not to lose 'collaboration and new ideas' that came with being physically present in the workplace.
'Family-friendly, flexible workplaces should absolutely be here to stay,' he said. 'But I also know that Melbourne's at its best when it's full of people, and I think workplaces are at their best when they're full of people.'
The government expects to pass the laws next year, setting the stage for the 2026 state poll as the first major policy announcement to be debated in an election year.
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After widespread outcry earlier this year, former federal opposition leader Peter Dutton backflipped mid-campaign on his election promise to end flexible work rules for public servants in Canberra.
State Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the Victorian Liberals recognised that hybrid work arrangements had become a 'valuable' option for workers.
'We support measures that help Victorians enjoy a better work-life balance, and will review any legislation closely, to ensure it supports flexibility, productivity, and personal choice,' he said.
The premier's appearance at Saturday's Labor state conference served as a quasi-launch for the 2026 state election campaign, with Labor speakers drawing attention to the fact the poll was less than 500 days away.
A promotional video for Allan also debuted the political slogan 'Jacinta Allan: On your side'. Anthony Albanese adopted a similar slogan in 2021 as opposition leader.
In her speech to the conference, Allan spoke about a worker who she had talked to about the difference working from home had made to her life.
She said the worker, who she called Jane, had been told during a video meeting – by another employee who was working from home at the time – that it was no longer sustainable for her to work remotely.
'Losing that one day has taken a toll on her, on her kids and on her parents,' Allan said. 'She's had to cut back her hours. She's earning less and spending more, and she's stressed constantly.
'This isn't about whether the work gets done, it gets done. This is about power. It's about who gets to call the shots and who gets pushed around, and we will not stand by while workers, especially women, single mums and carers, get punished for needing balance in their lives.'
Hilakari warned the Liberal Party should be 'very cautious' about opposing any legislation which enshrined working from home in law. 'They saw what happened at the last federal election ... If the Victorian Liberal Party goes against it, well, the trade union movement will be running on this all the way to the ballot box.'