<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/02/victoria-work-from-home-two-days-a-week-law-jacinta-allan-labor-party-state-conference>
"Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week,
under proposed Australian-first laws to be introduced to parliament by the
state Labor government in 2026.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, used Labor’s state conference on Saturday
to announce the proposal, which, if passed by parliament, would make the state
the first in the country to legislate the right to work remotely.
Allan told party faithful if a job can “reasonably” be done from home,
employees would have the legal right to do so for at least two days a week.
She said that working from home was popular, it saved families money, cut
congestion and allowed greater workforce participation, particularly among
women with children, carers and people with a disability.
“This isn’t about whether the work gets done, it gets done. This is about
power. It’s about who gets to call the shots and who gets pushed around,” Allan
said in her speech.
“We will not stand by while workers – especially women, single mums, carers –
get punished for needing balance in their lives. This is about respect, this is
about dignity, this is about fairness.”
The law would apply to both public and private sector workers, though it is
unclear how it will be enforced, given industrial relations is the domain of
the federal government.
All states except Western Australia have referred their powers to make laws for
private sector workplaces to the federal government. The constitution also
states that state laws that conflict with federal laws are considered invalid.
However, Allan told reporters there were “several legislative options”
available to the state government, including via the
Equal Opportunity Act."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
