Work-from-home twist as new law in Victoria may mean Aussies get the same rights around the country

By AIDAN WONDRACZ, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:30, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 00:48, 6 July 2026 Bosses have been warned a new work-from-home law soon to be rolled out in Victoria could pave the way for employees in other states to demand the same rights.  Millions of Victorians will be allowed to work from home two days a week when the new legislation comes into effect for large businesses on September 1, and small businesses on July 1, 2027. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has spearheaded the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, which will not only apply to full-time workers, but also part-time and casual employees. Employment lawyers have since warned the rollout could set a precedent in the country, and be used by employees in other states to justify a similar work setup. Ashurst partner Trent Sebbens told the Australian Financial Review businesses that operated in multiple states could be forced to cave to employees.  'You might have a circumstance in which an employer will find it challenging to mount a reasonable business grounds refusal in another state if they haven't been able to reject the flexible two-day work-from-home notice in Victoria,' he said. Under the federal Fair Work Act, workers across the country can already request to work from home, but bosses have an easier time of rejecting requests. Employers just need to prove there are 'reasonable business grounds' for a worker to come into the office. A new work-from-home law that is set to be rolled out in Victoria in months could pave the way for employees in other states to successfully demand the same rights (stock image) Under the new laws in Victoria, employers will find it more difficult to reject a work-from-home request.  They will need to prove that remote work would significantly impact the business, including customer outcomes, productivity and relationships. Kingston Reid partner Brad Popple argued even though the new laws applied to Victoria, it could be used by workers in other states if their request to work from home is rejected under the federal law system. 'As a practical matter, I think it's highly likely that the existence of those factual examples [of equivalent employees working from home in Victoria] will be referred to and relied upon,' he said.  Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors associate director Tamsin Lawrence said it was unclear how much power the legal system in Victoria would have overall. She raised particular questions about businesses that were based outside of Victoria.  'Can VCAT [Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal] come in and give a slap on the wrist to an employer, for example, who's in America?' she said. 'That in itself is a question of can Victorian law do that?  Millions of Victorians will be allowed to work from home two days a week when the new legislation comes into effect for large businesses on September 1, and small businesses on July 1, 2027 '[The legislation] basically doesn't make clear when the conduct of a non-Victorian-based business will be considered to be in breach of the working from home rights.'  In June, Bunnings boss Michael Schneider warned that Victoria's new work-from-home laws will create 'structural inequity'. 'We've got a whole lot of teams who have to go to work to perform their duties, our floor teams, our distribution teams, our manufacturing teams and they do amazing work all the time,' he told Melbourne radio 3AW. 'But all of a sudden, we've got a situation where our support teams are under this proposed legislation where they have a legal right to work from home a couple of days a week. 'I'm just a big believer that it has to be fair for everybody in our society.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.