Work from home laws face calls for a two-day limit
Victorian business groups are pushing for a two-day cap on the proposed work from home right in the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, arguing the laws due to begin on 1st September 2026 would otherwise be costly and difficult to run.
The Victorian Congress of Employer Associations has put forward a 10-point amendment package that would also delay the start for businesses with fewer than 200 employees, broaden the grounds for refusing arrangements and let employers review, pause or revoke work-from-home arrangements when circumstances change.
Among the proposed changes, the group wants the legislated right capped at a maximum of two working days a week, or the pro-rata equivalent, and says it should not stack on top of awards, enterprise agreements or other workplace arrangements.
Start date under pressure
Business groups are also seeking a delay to 1st March 2027 or a phased start for smaller employers, saying the bill could receive Royal Assent only weeks or days before the 1st September 2026 commencement date.
They say that timeline would leave employers rewriting policies, setting up new processes, assessing safety obligations, understanding cost liabilities, training managers and responding to employee notices under a new legal regime.
The amendment package also calls for stronger powers to manage occupational health and safety obligations, clearer rules around reasonable employer costs, a legally reliable checklist or code for responding to notices, and limits so the right applies only to employees whose primary place of employment is in Victoria unless otherwise agreed.
It also seeks powers for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to quickly dismiss frivolous, vexatious or unmeritorious complaints. Business groups said the commission’s own performance data shows only 42% of complaints are resolved within six months.
Draft regulations have not yet been released, and business groups are calling for them to be published urgently before they are finalised.
