Response to Victoria's New Remote Work Strategy

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New proposals in Australia could soon make working from home a legal entitlement for residents in Victoria.

On Thursday, Premier Jacinta Allan shared plans to legislate that from 2026, workers will have the right to work remotely for two days each week.

While Allan anticipates some pushback, she believes that many Victorians will gain from this change. The rule will apply to all employees who can “reasonably” perform their duties from home.

“For bosses who prioritize visibility at the office over family time, they should know our stance,” Allan remarked. “Our government supports parents attending their children’s dinners over unnecessary office presence.”

“We will not tolerate a system where workers—particularly women, single mothers, and caregivers—are penalized for seeking a balanced life.”

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.

The specifics, like what constitutes remote work, eligibility, its impact on part-time staff, and applicable industries, will be hashed out during a consultation phase.

‘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 expressed that this new plan is prompting “both small and large members” of the business advocacy group to reconsider operating within 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 joined the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce in 2024, prides itself on spearheading initiatives to boost the economy and civic growth, striving to make Melbourne one of the most livable cities worldwide.

‘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 believe working from home offers an enhanced work-life balance, bringing happiness both at the workplace and at home,” she mentioned.

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 are in favor of initiatives that improve work-life balance for Victorians and will scrutinize any new laws to ensure they promote flexibility, productivity, and individual preference,” he commented.

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