Victoria’s proposed work from home bill would give eligible employees a legal right to two days remote work per week.
Under current workplace law, employees can request flexible working arrangements including working from home. Employers can consider that request and decline it. Under Victoria’s proposed new bill, that dynamic is about to change materially.
The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 proposes a statutory right for eligible employees to work from home for up to two days per week. Rather than simply requesting the arrangement, employees would be able to formally notify their employer of their intention to work from home. Employers would then be required to respond within 21 days under the draft bill and could only refuse if they can demonstrate the arrangement is not reasonable, with a relatively high bar to justify that refusal.
For small business owners, the shift from a right to request to a near-expectation of accommodation is significant. The legislation remains subject to amendment as it progresses, but the direction of travel is clear.
What the bill proposes
If passed, the bill is expected to take effect from 1 September 2026. Small businesses receive a delayed start date of 1 July 2027, providing additional time to prepare. That window is worth using deliberately rather than passively.
Laurence McLean, Director of Operations at Peninsula Australia, said the proposed changes reflect a broader shift in how flexibility is being approached in modern workplaces. “This represents a significant move towards making working from home a more standard part of employment, rather than something that needs to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.”
The practical implication is that businesses can no longer treat remote work requests as discretionary. Under the proposed model, the default position shifts. Working from home becomes the expected arrangement where it is considered reasonable, and the onus falls on the employer to demonstrate why it is not.
The burden shifts
The central question the bill introduces for small businesses is what constitutes a reasonable refusal. McLean said that threshold will be the defining issue for employers navigating the new framework. “The key issue will be what is considered reasonable, and employers will need to clearly assess roles and justify decisions where working from home may not be suitable.”
That assessment requires more than a general preference for in-person work. Businesses will need to document role-specific reasons why remote arrangements cannot be accommodated, particularly for positions where physical presence is operationally necessary. Vague or unsupported refusals are unlikely to meet the standard the bill envisages.
For roles where the case for in-person work is clear, the documentation process is straightforward. For roles where the answer is less obvious, the assessment will require more careful thought, and potentially legal advice, before the legislation takes effect.
Beyond HR
McLean noted that the implications of the proposed bill extend well beyond human resources. “Employers need to consider not just the HR side of flexible working, but their workplace health and safety obligations as well. Businesses need to ensure that wherever their employees are working, including at home, that environment is safe and meets relevant WHS requirements.”
In addition to WHS obligations, business owners may be required to cover reasonable costs associated with enabling remote work, including equipment, technology, and secure access to systems. Data security and the management of distributed teams are also considerations that sit alongside the employment law obligations the bill creates.
For small businesses that have managed remote work informally since the pandemic, the legislation formalises expectations that may have previously been handled on a case-by-case basis. That formalisation brings both clarity and compliance obligations that did not previously exist in statute.
Small businesses have until 1 July 2027 before the proposed legislation applies to them, assuming the bill passes in its current or similar form. That window provides time to prepare but not to ignore the issue.
McLean’s summary of what businesses need to balance is a useful starting point. “Ultimately, businesses will need to balance supporting flexibility with maintaining productivity, operational efficiency and service delivery.”
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