Work from home a legal right in Australian-first reform
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.
NSW 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 per cent of managers and people in professional services, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau says 43 per cent who work from home do overtime, compared to one quarter of those who do not.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Rudd was Chinese': The strange beliefs of the fringe group allegedly targeted by Beijing
The Buddhist group allegedly targeted in a foreign interference plot by the Chinese Communist Party promotes fringe beliefs, including that former prime minister Kevin Rudd was a Chinese man in a past life. A Chinese woman who is also an Australian permanent resident appeared in the ACT Magistrates' Court on Monday, charged with reckless foreign interference over allegations she had covertly gathered information on Guan Yin Citta, a Buddhist association. The association's Canberra premises, located in a nondescript office building near the Australian National University, were closed due to water damage on Tuesday, but pamphlets distributed by the group outside revealed some of its beliefs. The materials state that its late Australia-based leader, Master Jun Hong Lu, was an earthly manifestation of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, a Buddhist icon of compassion. Lu died in 2021. 'By performing 'totem reading' based upon someone's year of birth, gender and Chinese zodiac sign, he reveals their past, present and future, and points out what truly causes the ups and downs in our daily lives,' its book, Little Houses, claims. Religious groups are subject to tight limitations in China, where the ruling communist party restricts alternative sources of moral authority. The state has persecuted other fringe religious groups, including Falun Gong. Bitter Winter, an online magazine on religious liberty in China, has reported that Chinese state media commonly describe Guan Yin Citta as a 'heterodox organisation', effectively making it a banned organisation. In another book from the group, Introduction to the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, Lu writes that he once wanted to find out why Rudd was such a fluent Mandarin speaker and, for fun, consulted the former prime minister's totem.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Let us see the audits': Kmart faces legal battle over alleged links to Uyghur forced labour
Kmart has defended its ethical sourcing practices after being served with a court challenge to provide documents on how it has dealt with two clothing factories that have been linked to forced labour in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in north-western China. The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) filed a Federal Court application on Monday seeking documentation from Kmart about what it knew of two clothing suppliers linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the Chinese government has systematically persecuted the Uyghur population and other Turkic minorities. Represented by law firms Maurice Blackburn and the Human Rights Law Centre, AUTWA is looking to determine whether Kmart followed its ethical sourcing procedures and monitored risks to mount a future legal case that would allege Kmart breached consumer law by making misleading and deceptive statements. In a statement, a Kmart spokesperson said the retailing giant had been corresponding with AUTWA's lawyers for more than 12 months and had provided 'extensive details' of its ethical sourcing program that had been in place for 15 years. Loading 'We invited the AUTWA to meet with us several times to help us understand their concerns,' said the Kmart spokesperson. 'Suppliers in the Kmart ethical sourcing program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern. 'Where we learn of an alleged non-compliance with our code through an audit, site visit or complaint, or by a worker in a supplier's factory, we take action to investigate and remediate the issue, working collaboratively with the supplier. 'When remediation isn't possible due to the supplier's refusal to do so, or repeated failures to make meaningful changes, we will exit the relationship.' However, Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jennifer Kanis said the Australian retailer's response during the 12 months of correspondence was 'not satisfactory' because it had repeated public assertions about its ethical sourcing without providing any evidence.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
‘Rudd was Chinese': The strange beliefs of the fringe group allegedly targeted by Beijing
The Buddhist group allegedly targeted in a foreign interference plot by the Chinese Communist Party promotes fringe beliefs, including that former prime minister Kevin Rudd was a Chinese man in a past life. A Chinese woman who is also an Australian permanent resident appeared in the ACT Magistrates' Court on Monday, charged with reckless foreign interference over allegations she had covertly gathered information on Guan Yin Citta, a Buddhist association. The association's Canberra premises, located in a nondescript office building near the Australian National University, were closed due to water damage on Tuesday, but pamphlets distributed by the group outside revealed some of its beliefs. The materials state that its late Australia-based leader, Master Jun Hong Lu, was an earthly manifestation of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, a Buddhist icon of compassion. Lu died in 2021. 'By performing 'totem reading' based upon someone's year of birth, gender and Chinese zodiac sign, he reveals their past, present and future, and points out what truly causes the ups and downs in our daily lives,' its book, Little Houses, claims. Religious groups are subject to tight limitations in China, where the ruling communist party restricts alternative sources of moral authority. The state has persecuted other fringe religious groups, including Falun Gong. Bitter Winter, an online magazine on religious liberty in China, has reported that Chinese state media commonly describe Guan Yin Citta as a 'heterodox organisation', effectively making it a banned organisation. In another book from the group, Introduction to the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, Lu writes that he once wanted to find out why Rudd was such a fluent Mandarin speaker and, for fun, consulted the former prime minister's totem.
