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, will use 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 will tell 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.
The law would apply to both public and private sector workers, though how it would be enforced and other specifics were not outlined ahead of her speech.
In a statement, the premier 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.
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“Work from home works for families and it’s good for the economy,” Allan said.
“Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit.”
The announcement sets the stage for a political fight in the lead-up to the November 2026 state election, given the Coalition opposition has previously signalled plans to return the public service to the office full-time.
The shadow treasurer, James Newbury, told the Herald Sun in February that the government “should be requiring public servants to work from the office” but stopped short of confirming whether the Coalition would enforce a mandate.
The issue was also a flashpoint at the recent federal election, with Peter Dutton forced mid-campaign to reverse a policy to restrict work from home arrangements for public servants due to public backlash.
Allan’s statement said consultation on the legislation would be led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and would cover the types of businesses and the size of businesses that would be included, as well as the definition of remote work and who was able to do it.
It stressed the consultation process “won’t determine whether working from home should be a right” as that position had already been decided. Instead, it would focus on “the appropriate laws to reflect it”. It said “several legislative options were available”.
Allan will be left to rally the room of 600 Victorian Labor delegates, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, unable to attend as he will be at the Garma festival in the Northern Territory.
It will mean the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, will be the most senior party figure at the two-day event and placed in an uncomfortable position as delegates vote on a review of the Aukus submarine deal he has strongly backed.
Other urgency resolutions up for debate include a call for the federal government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state and impose sanctions on Israel, rejection of the Allan government’s proposed protest laws – described as “anti-democratic and regressive” – and for all 44 public housing tower sites slated for redevelopment to remain in public hands.
