WORKPLACE POLICY
Premier Ben Carroll has pushed the start date for Victoria’s statutory right to work from home from September 2026 to July 2027, following weeks of lobbying from business groups. The bill itself remains alive, giving HR and recruitment teams a longer runway to prepare rather than an exit from the reform.
On 11 August, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll announced he would delay the state’s right-to-work-from-home laws by close to two years, pushing the scheme’s start date from 1 September 2026 to 1 July 2027.
The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, introduced to parliament in June under former premier Jacinta Allan, would give eligible employees, including part-time and regular casual workers on a pro rata basis, a statutory right to work from home two days a week where it is reasonable to do so. It had been due to be debated in the upper house this week before Carroll intervened.
Why the delay
Twelve business and employer groups, including the Business Council of Australia and the Property Council of Australia, issued a joint statement this week arguing the reform was unnecessary given how widely flexible work is already offered. “This Bill is a solution trying to find a problem that does not exist,” the groups said.
Carroll told the Australian Financial Review the delay would give his government more time to consult industry before the laws take effect. He said he remained committed to legislating the two-day right but would consider “commonsense amendments” during the extended consultation period.
What HR and recruitment teams should do now
Nick Linke, partner and Australian head of employment and safety at Dentons, said the decision to push out the start date may reflect employer unease about how disruptive the change could be in practice. He does not expect other states to follow Victoria’s lead, pointing to the state’s comparatively strong union presence and its experience of extended pandemic lockdowns as likely factors behind the state-specific approach.
The bill’s underlying architecture, with disputes running through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and, if unresolved, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, remains unchanged. Linke’s advice to HR practitioners is to use the extended runway to consult closely with managers and operations teams now, mapping which roles can reasonably accommodate remote work and which cannot, so a workable plan is in place well before the laws take effect.
With a Victorian state election due on 28 November 2026, the policy should be treated as delayed rather than shelved. For recruitment firms placing candidates into Victorian roles, the extended timeline means flexibility arrangements remain a matter of employer discretion and enterprise agreement for now, not statutory entitlement.
Sources
Human Resources Director Australia, “Victoria pushes work-from-home law start back to July 2027,” 11 August 2026 — hcamag.com
Human Resources Director Australia, “Victoria locks in the legal right to work from home 2 days a week,” June 2026
The Canberra Times / Australian Community Media wire report, 11-12 August 2026
Time News, “Victoria Premier Ben Carroll Delays Work-From-Home Laws to 2027”
