On 16 July 2026 the Victorian Government introduced the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026. The Bill amends the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (VIC) to provide eligible full-time employees the right to work from home two days per week (and on a pro rata basis for employees working fewer than 38 hours per week).

If the Bill is passed by parliament it will take effect on 1 September 2026 (or 1 July 2027 for small businesses).

Employers should be proactively preparing for these changes which might affect existing remote working policies and practices and prepare for additional costs as they will be liable to pay the reasonable costs necessary to enable an eligible employee to work from home.

• The Bill provides eligible Victorian employees with a statutory right to work from home for two days per week for full time eligible employees (and on a pro rata basis for part time employees), where reasonable.
• It is likely that the Bill will be passed and commence operation from 1 September 2026.
• The Bill stipulates which employees are eligible and proscribes the matters that can be considered in determining whether it is "reasonable" for an eligible employee to work from home.
• Employers must pay any reasonable costs necessary to enable an eligible employee to work from home. Reasonable costs include costs of essential equipment (hardware and software) and secure access to the employer's information systems.
• It will be possible for disputes to be brought in the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) for conciliation and escalated to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) where not resolved.
• This is an opportune time for employers to assess whether their employees will be eligible and update their WFH practices and requirements to ensure compliance with the new rights. Importantly, "one size fits all" remote working policies must be reviewed and considered carefully before implemented and employers must be ready to respond to work from home notices.
    

Which employees will have a right to WFH?

All full time employees will be eligible to work from home for two days per week where they can reasonably perform their job from home. Unlike the request for flexible work arrangement provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the Victorian WFH right is:

• Not limited to certain categories or protected classes of employees (e.g., employees with a disability, caring responsibilities, over 55 years of age etc.)
• Not a right to request flexibility, but rather is a right to notify an employer of the employee's intention to exercise their right to work from home by way of a notice process. It is then a matter for the employer to respond to any such notice within a prescribed period and provide written reasons for why they dispute a notice.

Some employees will not be eligible under the new laws including employees who are:

• On probation
• Undertaking an apprenticeship, traineeship, internship, graduate program, work experience program or similar program
• Regulated workers within the meaning of the Fair Work Act (employee-like workers and regulated road transport contractors as defined in the Fair Work Act)
• Employees who have a right to request flexible work arrangements under section 65 of the Fair Work Act and seek to work from home because of the circumstances listed in section 65(1A) of the Fair Work Act (discussed further below)
• Casual employees who are not employed on a regular and systematic basis
• An otherwise prescribed employee or an employee of a proscribed class.

The Bill states that the right will extend to eligible part time employees – i.e., those who work fewer than 38 hours per week - on a pro rata basis. However, the Bill does not specify how the pro rata entitlement is to be calculated. The Bill instead provides that regulations may prescribe a method for determining the pro rata calculation.

When will it be reasonable for an employee to WFH?

The only matters that can be considered in determining whether it is reasonable for an employee to work from home are:

• The inherent requirements of the employee's role, including whether those requirements can be satisfied on specific days or at specific times—
  • Without the employee's attendance in person at their regular workplace
  • Without the employee using equipment at their regular workplace
  • Without in person interactions between the employee and members of the public or clients or customers of the employer
• The impact that the employee working from home would have on the employer, including whether the employee working from home on specific days or at specific times—
  • Would be likely to cause a significant decrease in productivity or efficiency for the employer
  • Would have an adverse impact on any person's safety
  • Would have a significant adverse impact on supervision, training or professional development of the employer's employees
  • Would have a significant adverse impact on the capacity to build relationships between the employee and stakeholders, clients or customers of the employer
  • Would have a significant adverse impact on customer service outcomes
  • Would have a significant adverse impact on confidentiality or data protection
  • Would impose financial costs on the employer that are excessive
  • Would require the employer to make changes to the working arrangements of the employee or any other employee that are impractical
  • Would require the employer to make new hirings that are impractical.

In considering the inherent requirements of the employee's role regard must be had to any legal requirements relating to safety, security, welfare or supervision.

What will amount to reasonable costs that the employer must pay to facilitate WFH?

If the Bill passes in its current form, employers will be liable to pay any reasonable costs necessary to enable an employee to work from home. It is not yet clear the extent to which this obligation will apply.

At a minimum, reasonable costs will include essential equipment (including hardware and software) and whatever is necessary to enable secure access to the employer's information systems. However, it is likely that additional costs, for example, internet plans, mobile phones, new equipment to set up a home office may be requested by employees under these new laws.

When will these changes take effect?

The Bill has passed the first reading stage in the Legislatively Assembly. It is likely that the Bill will be passed by parliament, (whether in its current form or in an amended form) given that both the Labor party and the Greens have publicly supported the right to work from home.

It is likely that the Bill will come into effect on 1 September 2026.

It is important to note that, even if the Bill is passed, employees will not automatically be able to work from home from 1 September 2026. Rather, from 1 September employees will be able to provide their employer with written notice of their intention to exercise their right to work from home. Employers will then have 21 days to respond to a notice.

What will be the required process before an employee can exercise their right to WFH?

As noted above, an employee will be required to issue their employer with written notice of their intention to exercise their right to work from home. Employers must respond to a notice within 21 days.
If the amount of time that an employee requests to work from home is not reasonable the employer must still allow the employee to work from home for any lesser period that is reasonable.

If an employer considers it is not reasonable for an employee to work from home, they must provide written reasons.

The Bill provides that disputes can be heard by the VEOHRC or VCAT. The Bill affords VCAT the power to order an employer to allow an employee to work from home or order that an employer does anything specified to comply with a provision that has been contravened.

VCAT may also exercise its existing remedial powers under the Equal Opportunity Act to order an employer to stop contravening the Act, pay compensation, or take any action to address harm caused by the contravention.

Will these new laws be subject to constitutional challenge?

Much commentary around these new laws has focussed on whether the Victorian State Government is constitutionally barred from legislating in relation to matters that are already the subject matter of Federal legislation – specifically the request for flexible work arrangements provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

It is apparent that the Bill has been carefully drafted to exclude from the right to work from home, employees who are already eligible to make a flexible work request under the Fair Work Act. The Bill requires that those employees follow the process under the Fair Work Act rather than issue a work from home notice under the Bill.

While this carve out appears intended to reduce the risk of inconsistency with the Fair Work Act and a constitutional challenge, from a practical perspective it may be difficult for employers to enforce a requirement that an employee utilise the Fair Work Act request process rather than the Victorian notification of an intention to exercise an alleged right - particularly if their membership of such an eligible category under the Fair Work Act provisions is unclear or unknown to the employer.

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Anna Wiseman, Associate, has contributed to this legal update.