Victoria cannot afford more workplace regulation while businesses remain under pressure
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has warned that the Victorian Government’s insistence to legislate working from home arrangements is being rushed and poorly timed as businesses continue grappling with the ongoing impacts of the Middle East fuel crisis, rising operating costs and weakening business conditions across the State.
The Victorian Government must undertake a full Legislative Impact Assessment before proceeding with any working from home legislation, including detailed modelling of compliance costs, productivity impacts, workforce implications and effects on small businesses.
New VCCI business survey data shows the fuel crisis continues to place sustained pressure on Victorian businesses, with nearly half reporting moderate operational disruption and 95 per cent reporting additional costs to their businesses from 10 per cent up to more than 50 per cent.
The data also shows businesses are already adapting where flexibility works operationally, with growing numbers adjusting delivery models and enabling additional remote work arrangements in response to current economic conditions.
Legislating working from home rights from September risks adding further uncertainty, compliance burden and operational complexity at a time when many businesses are still fighting to remain viable. There are also increasing reports of jobs being sent offshore which is another unintended consequence of this policy push that we have previously voiced our concerns about.
The proposed laws would apply from 1 September 2026, with delayed commencement for businesses with fewer than 15 employees until July 2027.
Analysis of state economic data shows Victoria’s recent business investment growth has fallen behind other states on more conventional measures, while business growth is increasingly concentrated among non-employing and low-turnover businesses.
To be attributed to Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting Chief Executive Amelia Bitsis:
“Victorian businesses are already under extraordinary pressure. Fuel costs remain elevated, supply chain disruption continues, operating margins are tightening and confidence remains fragile.
“The overwhelming message from business right now is not that flexibility is failing - it is that businesses need room to manage through increasingly difficult economic conditions.
“The Victorian Government has acknowledged that more than a third of workers, including around 60 per cent of professionals, already regularly work from home. That demonstrates businesses are enabling flexibility where it works operationally, commercially and practically.
“This is not a system that requires legislative intervention and in fact that intervention is sending a negative signal to employing businesses, with increasing reports of jobs being sent offshore.
“What businesses are deeply concerned about is the prospect of another layer of regulation, uncertainty and potential dispute at a time when many are still dealing with ongoing cost escalation linked to the Middle East fuel crisis and broader economic weakness.
“Our latest survey data shows businesses are continuing to absorb significant increases in freight, fuel and operational costs, while many are now reducing production levels, restructuring service delivery and delaying investment decisions.
“This proposal risks creating a two-tier workforce between industries and occupations that can work remotely and those that simply cannot.
“A hospitality worker, construction worker, manufacturer, healthcare worker, logistics operator or retail employee cannot perform their role from home yet many of those industries are already carrying some of the heaviest economic pressure in the state.
“Victoria cannot continue layering additional workplace obligations onto employers while simultaneously asking businesses to drive investment, employment and economic growth.
“No other Premier in Australia is pursuing this approach – and for good reason.
“At a time when Victoria is already facing serious competitiveness challenges, this risks sending exactly the wrong signal to employers and investors.
“The reality is many Victorian businesses are already making flexibility work sensibly and collaboratively. Good employers understand flexibility helps attract and retain talent.
“But flexibility works best when it can be adapted to the operational realities of individual workplaces - not imposed through a rigid, one-size-fits-all legislative framework.
“What business needs right now is stability, confidence and breathing room, not more compliance obligations.”
Contact details:
Rebecca Chin - 0423 883 945