Public Response to Victoria's New Remote Work Policy

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With new Australian-first rules suggested, working from home might soon be a legal right for Victorians.

Premier Jacinta Allan announced on Thursday that she would introduce legislation in 2026 legally enshrining the right to work from home for two days a week.

Allan said she expected the plan to face some criticism but said many Victorians stood to benefit from the changes, which will cover all employees who can “reasonably” do their job from home.

“Bosses who think being seen at a desk is more important than a parent getting home for dinner with their kids, if they want to look their workers in the eye and tell them their time with their families doesn’t count, they know where my government stands,” Allan said.

“We won’t stand by while workers — especially women, single mums, carers — get punished for needing balance in their lives.”

Details are yet to be worked through but Allan signalled the changes could come into effect under Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act, as private workplaces are regulated by federal laws.

Issues such as the definition of remote work, who can do it, how it would affect part-time workers and the types of businesses to which the law would apply, will be figured out through a consultation process.

‘Complete overreach’

Peak business bodies have criticised the plan, with Committee for Melbourne CEO Scott Veenker calling it a “complete overreach”.

“It’s another regulatory burden or requirement that just makes the cost of doing business too hard,” he said, adding that his group “hadn’t been consulted with prior to the announcement”.

“The reality is that we want to actually have an environment where businesses can thrive and flourish, and they don’t need more regulation and more legislation to prevent them [from] doing that.”

Veenker said the state government’s new plan will make “members both small and large” of the business advocacy group ask if they should “continue trading in Victoria”.

“We know that businesses will move their staff and their resources accordingly, and we don’t want Victoria to be seen as a place that’s too hard to do business,” he said.

“They should be arrangements that are really done in conjunction with staff and the employers, rather than the state government trying to put their nose into this.

“We want the state government to be looking at how we should be focusing on economic growth and enabling businesses to prosper.”

The Committee for Melbourne, which merged with the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce in 2024, describes itself as being founded “to champion key initiatives to stimulate the economy and civic development, which put Melbourne on a pathway to become one of the world’s most liveable cities”.

‘A really good initiative’

However, several people SBS News talked to on the streets of Melbourne said they supported the proposal.

One young woman said it was “a really good initiative”.

“I think working from home allows people to have a bit more of better work-lifestyle balance, therefore making them happy — happy to be at work when it is time to be at work, [and] happy to be at home,” she said.

A woman wearing a black jacket speaks into a microphone as a tram passes behind her.

Another woman SBS News spoke to said the ability to work from home “just makes life so much easier”. Source: SBS News

A middle-aged man said he currently had an arrangement to work one day a fortnight at home and would “certainly be keen for that to be made a legal thing to do more”.

A young man who works from home said: “going to [the] office necessarily doesn’t mean full productivity, so that’s something people have to consider,” he said.

Several experts recently told SBS News that working from home breaks down barriers to gender equality in the workplace and is necessary for modern families, especially those who face significant commutes to work.

More than one in three Australian employees typically work from home, but that figure rises to 60 per cent among managers and those in professional services, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The ABS also says 43 per cent of those who work from home do overtime, compared to one quarter of those who do not.

State Opposition signals possible support

Allan — whose announcement coincided with the Victorian Labor Party meeting for its annual conference — has promised to introduce the law in 2026, prior to the state election.

Polls indicate Labor is on track to win a fourth term but the November 2026 poll will be the first as premier for Allan, who lags Opposition leader Brad Battin as preferred state leader.

On Saturday, Battin indicated he might support the proposal.

“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 federal Opposition’s proposal to eliminate remote work for public servants was partly blamed for its poor performance in the May federal election, even though it abandoned the policy before voting day.

During the campaign, former Opposition leader Peter Dutton apologised after admitting that the proposal to end work-from-home arrangements for public servants was a “mistake”.

The plan was immediately framed by Labor and Greens parliamentarians as being a regressive move for women’s working rights.

— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press