University lecturer loses Fair Work case over work-from-home bid

A James Cook University lecturer has failed in a Fair Work Commission bid to secure permission to work from home nearly 900 kilometres from her campus, after the tribunal found she had not established that her claimed disability made remote work necessary.

Dr Anna Kokavec, who is based at James Cook University’s Townsville campus, sought an order allowing her to carry out her duties remotely from the Sunshine Coast.

The academic said she had been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder and requested a 12-month remote-work arrangement, with reviews every three months. She argued the change would help her manage physical and mental health symptoms linked to burnout.

Dr Kokavec, a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, Student Support and Professional Practice, also said working from the Sunshine Coast would give her access to family support.

She first asked JCU to consider the proposed remote arrangement in October 2024.

“These changes will assist me because I have been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder, which is a recognised disability,” she wrote in a Subject Request reviewed by the Commission.

“Several work-related issues occurred last year that triggered my disability conditions and physically attending the workplace would further exacerbate my symptoms.”

JCU rejected the request, arguing that Dr Kokavec’s position was student-facing and required her presence on campus so students could attend in-person consultations.

In a series of emails to the academic in early 2025, JCU said that ‘developing and implementing upskilling for staff and students in professionalism and self-care is a critical element’ of her role and that it was ‘best achieved’ with face-to-face workshops.

JCU advised Dr Kokavec it was unable to accommodate her request, but would consider a six-month trial of a remote working arrangement for 40 per cent of her role, with the remaining ‘student facing’ aspect to be recruited externally.

She declined that offer and provided a medical certificate which stated she was medically fit to perform all duties from home.

RELATED: Rachel Danis, Wife of Patrick Clancy, to Join 60 Minutes Interview

The certificate also stated that attending the workplace would be detrimental to her mental health, and that engaging in conflict would also likely be detrimental to her mental health.

A Fair Work hearing was held in Brisbane in May to consider if JCU had refused her request on reasonable grounds, during which Dr Kokavec said she needed to work remotely because she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a diagnosed adjustment disorder, and fibromyalgia.

When asked about her claim that she’d been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder, she told the Commission there was no diagnosis but that she was illustrating her inability to perform her role on campus.

‘The wording I used was to highlight that attending the workplace would prevent me from being able to perform my role because it would create cognitive impairment such as inability to think, inability to remember, and it would be most distressing,’ she said.

‘So that term was not a diagnosis indicating some impact on cognition. After all, I’m not qualified to give a diagnosis.’

In her judgement, Deputy President Terri Butler found that the evidence did not ‘establish that Dr Kokavec had a cognitive disorder’ when she made her work from home application.

‘The Subject Request states a disorder the Applicant concedes she did not have,’ Dep. President Butler said.

‘It does not describe the specific symptoms or manifestations affecting her as a consequence of any disorder or condition she actually did have.

‘It does not make clear how the arrangements sought – working only from home – related to any of the Applicant’s symptoms or any manifestations of any disorder or condition that she had at the time.’

The Fair Work Commission dismissed her application.

Daily Mail has contacted Dr Kokavec for comment.