Push for national Work From Home (WFH) rights: Greens back Vic Labor's two-day proposal

22 August 2025

The Australian Greens have endorsed the Victorian Government's plan to legislate a legal right to work from home for two days per week, urging the federal government to adopt a consistent, national framework for remote work where it is reasonable and practical.

Under the Victorian proposal, employees would have a right to request working from home and employers would be required to give reasonable consideration to these requests, with the right applying to both public and private sector workers who can "reasonably" perform their duties remotely.

The Victorian Government has opened public consultation on the proposal, running until 28 September 2025, with legislation planned for introduction in 2026 ahead of the state election.

In South Australia, Greens are proposing a one-day WFH entitlement but Premier Peter Malinauskas opposes legislating such arrangements, citing unintended consequences and a preference for workplace-level negotiation. Source

Business groups have strongly criticised the proposal, with the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry arguing it creates workforce inequality since only a small percentage of workers can work from home Source and the Australian Industry Group's Victorian head calling it "pure political theatre" that undermines business autonomy. Source

The Productivity Commission has also questioned the need for mandated remote work, arguing that flexibility is evolving naturally. Source

The shift from a Victorian-only initiative to potential national implementation is strategically significant for multiple reasons. State-based work-from-home legislation faces two key vulnerabilities: creating competitive disadvantages that could drive businesses to other jurisdictions and potential override by federal workplace relations law under the Fair Work Act. However, if the Greens succeed in establishing a national framework through federal legislation, both concerns are eliminated.

Higher Education sector insights

The Greens' announcement strengthens the growing political momentum behind embedding hybrid work arrangements into legislation, following the evolving expectations of modern workplaces. Their advocacy builds on past achievements such as securing the legal Right to Disconnect.

For the higher education sector, this highlights:

• Greater employee-driven flexibility, especially for academic and professional staff balancing caregiving or commuting demands.
• A compelling need to review remote work policies and ensure they align with an emerging national standard.
• The importance of balancing operational needs with staff wellbeing and retention, avoiding unilateral revocation of flexible arrangements.

University-specific considerations

While the proposed legislation aims to create consistent national standards, universities face unique operational challenges that distinguish them from general business contexts:

• Scale and complexity: Universities employ diverse workforces spanning academic, professional, technical and support staff with vastly different role requirements and workplace needs.
• Campus-dependent roles: Many positions require on-campus presence including laboratory research, student services, facilities management and hands-on teaching activities.
• Existing flexibility frameworks: Most universities already have flexible work policies and enterprise agreements that may address remote work arrangements.
• Collaborative requirements: Research partnerships, academic collaboration, and student supervision often benefit from in-person interaction.
• Student experience factors: Campus life, peer learning and direct student-staff engagement remain core to the university experience.
• Discipline-specific needs: Requirements vary significantly across faculties, from clinical placements in health sciences to studio work in creative arts.

Potential implementation challenges

Universities considering this potential legislation should be aware of several key challenges:

• Role classification complexity: Determining which positions can reasonably accommodate remote work across diverse academic and professional functions.
• Resource allocation: Managing campus space, technology infrastructure and support services with fluctuating on-site presence.
• Equity considerations: Ensuring fair treatment between staff whose roles permit remote work and those requiring campus presence.
• Student impact: Balancing staff flexibility with maintaining quality educational delivery and student support services.

Key takeaways for universities

• Enhanced procedural requirements: Universities would need documented processes for evaluating WFH requests with clear, defensible criteria for refusals based on genuine operational needs, moving beyond informal arrangements to structured decision-making frameworks.
• Support for equity and retention: The proposal particularly supports women and carer, ensuring they remain part of the workforce without compromising responsibilities.
• Push for national consistency: A federal approach could simplify and standardise flexible work arrangements across jurisdictions, building on existing university practices while eliminating constitutional uncertainties that plague state-based approaches.
• Talent attraction and retention: As flexible work becomes an expected employment benefit, universities may need to balance compliance requirements with competitive positioning in the academic job market.

How AHEIA Legal can assist

AHEIA Legal offers specialised legal counsel tailored specifically for workplace relations and employment law in the Higher Education sector. AHEIA members receive 80 hours of expert legal advice included in their annual membership fee.

Should this policy progress toward federal enactment, which becomes more likely as national momentum build, universities will need to manage compliance effectively while maintaining their unique operational requirements. AHEIA Legal offers tailored support by:

• Reviewing and updating enterprise agreement clauses and employment policies to reflect new legislative requirements while preserving operational flexibility.
• Conducting policy audits to identify areas of compliance risk and alignment with existing enterprise agreements.
• Developing role-specific frameworks to fairly assess and respond to WFH requests across different university functions.
• Benchmarking against sector practices to ensure competitive flexibility offerings.
• Advising on lawful refusals, including operational, educational delivery or role-based limitations.

Proactive engagement with AHEIA Legal ensures universities can integrate emerging legal obligations while maintaining operational resilience, educational quality and staff morale.