Do You Have a Right To Work From Home? This Australian Politician Thinks So.
· Reason
As American businesses are pulling back on working from home, the Australian government is trying to force companies to guarantee it.
On Wednesday, Jacinta Allan, the premier of the Australian state of Victoria, proposed a bill that would give all employees, regardless of the size of the business, the right to work from home. The legislation—which will be introduced in July as a provision of the Equal Opportunity Act and go into effect in September—does not include exemptions for small businesses.
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"The law will apply to all workers in all businesses, everywhere," Allan said during a press conference this week. Jaclyn Cymes, the Minister for Industrial Relations, said the policy is "good for business" and that "enshrining this right in law means no boss or Liberal can take it away from our workers."
To Cymes' credit, working from home often is "good for business," which is why so many companies in Victoria already offer this option. According to the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 76 percent of businesses already provide flexible work arrangements. Interestingly, the same survey shows that one-third of businesses said they would look to expand their business and hire employees outside of Victoria if this legislation is introduced.
Still, just because working from home is a good business practice doesn't mean the government should be mandating it. As Bran Black of the Business Council of Australia said in a statement last year, the policy would "drive investment and jobs away from the state at a time they're needed most" and "add more red tape and make it less likely that businesses will choose to invest in Victoria." This added red tape would be especially damaging to the state's economy, which is home to 28 percent of all Australian small businesses, as of June 2023.
The mandate may also create pressure for other forms of workplace flexibility, particularly in the public sector. The Australian Education Union, for example, is now urging the state government to trial a four-day working week for teachers. The union is recommending a 30.4-hour job-share model in all public schools, in which teachers share the responsibilities and hours of a full-time position by splitting the schedules. Justin Mullaly, the president of the Victoria branch of the Australian Education Union, told 9 News that a trial for a 4-day work week for teachers would "provide some real flexibility for staff in our public schools."
These flexible working arrangements might seem beneficial to employees, but forcing them on employees could include several unintended consequences, such as lower pay and fewer opportunities for advancement. They could also impose a range of costs on employers that are often overlooked, including reduced opportunities for collaboration and knowledge transfer, higher communication costs, and, in many cases, potential productivity costs.
In 2025, the Australian government published a mega survey of 34,705 employees, and found that just over 3,200 (about 9.2 per cent) were too afraid to ask their boss to work from home. It also found that 28,700 participants said they were more productive when working from home. It does seem as though, for the majority of people, if they want to work from home, they already are. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 36 percent of employed people usually work from home.
If it is the case that working from home improves productivity, employers would surely be keen to encourage it without a government mandate. "Why would a business thwart employees' desire to work from home if it led to greater profits?" says Adam Creighton, senior fellow and chief economist at the free market Institute of Public Affairs. "Indeed, employers might realize jobs that can be done from home in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne can be done almost as easily for a small fraction of the cost in developing nations. Work from Home might lead quickly to Work from Anywhere."
Working from home is often a win-win for businesses and employees. That's exactly why the government shouldn't mandate it.
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