Flawed Work-from-Home Legislation requires ten-point plan to be fairer to all Victorians
Victorian Congress of Employer Associations
The Victorian Congress of Employer Associations has put forward a ten-point plan to overhaul Victoria’s proposed work-from-home laws, warning the legislation in its current form risks creating a costly, complex and unworkable regime for employers.
Victoria’s peak business and employer groups have consistently opposed a legislated work-from-home mandate, arguing flexible working arrangements are already widespread and are best negotiated directly between employers and employees.
However, with the Government proceeding with the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, the groups have developed a detailed package of amendments to make the proposed regime more workable and reduce unintended consequences for Victorian businesses and workers.
The proposed amendments include a hard two-day cap on the legislated work-from-home right, delayed commencement for businesses with fewer than 200 employees, stronger powers to manage productivity and safety, clearer rules around employer costs, and the ability to review, pause or revoke work-from-home arrangements when circumstances change.
A central concern is that the new right must be capped at a maximum of two working days per week, or the pro-rata equivalent, and must not stack on top of existing awards, enterprise agreements or workplace arrangements to create an entitlement to work remotely for the majority of the week.
The VCEA is also calling for the legislation to:
- Phase commencement for businesses with fewer than 200 employees;
- Broaden the grounds on which businesses may refuse a work-from-home arrangement, including where it would affect productivity, efficiency or the operational needs of the business;
- Strengthen employers’ ability to manage occupational health and safety obligations for employees working from home;
- Allow employers to review, pause or revoke arrangements where performance issues arise, business circumstances change, seasonal or peak periods require attendance, or workers are needed in person for training, professional development or team activities;
- Clarify and tighten the definition of reasonable employer costs;
- Give the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission powers to quickly dismiss frivolous, vexatious or unmeritorious complaints;
- Establish a legally reliable checklist or code for employers responding to work-from-home notices;
- Limit the right to employees whose primary place of employment is in Victoria, with work-from-home locations limited to agreed premises in Victoria unless otherwise agreed;
- Provide clarity on how the pro-rata entitlement will operate in practice.
The proposed commencement timetable is also dangerously compressed, with the legislation potentially receiving Royal Assent only weeks or days before obligations are due to begin on 1 September 2026.
This would leave employers scrambling to rewrite policies, establish new processes, assess safety obligations, understand cost liabilities, train managers and respond to employee notices under an entirely new legal regime.
Rushed implementation could also trigger avoidable disputes and place further pressure on the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, at a time when its own performance data shows only 42 per cent of complaints are resolved within six months.
Business groups are urging the Government to delay commencement until 1 March 2027 or, at minimum, phase in the requirements for smaller employers, to allow businesses, employees and the Commission time to properly prepare.
They are also calling for draft regulations to be released urgently and for business groups to be consulted before they are finalised.
Victoria is already facing serious economic challenges, with business conditions and confidence continuing to lag other states. The number of employing businesses in Victoria declined in 2024-25 and the state has the highest unemployment rate in mainland Australia.
At a time when Victoria needs to restore confidence and competitiveness, business groups warn the Government must avoid adding unnecessary complexity, cost and uncertainty to employers already doing the right thing.
The VCEA says the Government has an opportunity to fix the Bill before it takes effect and ensure the final legislation supports flexibility without undermining productivity, safety, investment and jobs.
