Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has delayed the start of Labor’s contentious work-from-home laws until July 2027, pushing the proposed entitlement well beyond the November state election as he seeks to reset the government’s relationship with the business community.
The legislation had been due to take effect for most Victorian workplaces from September 1 this year, giving eligible employees whose jobs can reasonably be performed remotely a legal right to work from home for two days a week. Mr Carroll announced on Tuesday that the commencement would instead be pushed back to July 1, 2027.
The decision follows an intense campaign by major employer groups urging the new Premier to abandon the legislation altogether, arguing it would increase costs, create additional regulation and damage Victoria’s competitiveness.
Mr Carroll, who replaced Jacinta Allan as Premier late last month, said he remained committed to flexible work but wanted further consultation before the laws took effect.
“I want to be very clear — I support work from home,” Mr Carroll said.
“I support flexible work. It is good for working families.”
He said economic policy required cooperation between employees, employers and government, adding that his “door will always be open to the business community”. Mr Carroll said he had personally spoken with Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Sally Curtain and Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper before announcing the delay.
“I’ve spoken with Sally Curtain this morning, and Tim Piper, and I’ve informed them that work-from-home will not proceed on the 1st of September,” he said.
“It will proceed on the 1st of July, 2027.”
The move is one of the clearest signs yet that Mr Carroll intends to take a different approach to business than his predecessor.
He has repeatedly spoken about repairing relations with employers and attracting investment, telling the ABC last week that he wanted to “roll the red carpet out” for businesses and make clear that his government was in their corner.
Despite delaying commencement, Mr Carroll says Labor still intends to pass the legislation before Victorians go to the polls on November 28. Parliamentary debate has been temporarily paused to allow further consultation and potential amendments.
The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 was introduced by Ms Allan on June 16 and passed the Legislative Assembly without amendment on July 30. It is currently before the Legislative Council at the second-reading stage.
Under the bill as introduced, employees working at least 38 hours a week would be entitled to work from home for two days where doing so is reasonable. Part-time workers and regular casual employees would receive a proportional entitlement.
Employees on probation, apprentices, trainees, interns, graduate program participants and some casual workers are among those excluded from the proposed scheme. Workers already entitled to seek flexible arrangements under particular provisions of the federal Fair Work Act would continue to use the federal process.
The bill would require employees to give employers written notice setting out the days and times they intended to work remotely. Employers would have 21 days to respond.
Employers could refuse a request where working from home would cause problems such as a significant reduction in productivity, safety concerns, adverse effects on training or customer service, data-security risks, excessive costs or an inability to perform the inherent requirements of the job.
Employers would also be required to meet reasonable costs necessary to allow an employee to work remotely, including essential equipment and secure access to workplace systems in applicable circumstances.
Employees disputing an employer’s decision could seek conciliation through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, with unresolved matters potentially proceeding to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
When the legislation was introduced, the Allan government argued working from home could save Victorian employees an average of $110 a week, or $5,308 a year, while cutting commuting time and helping more parents and carers remain in the workforce.
The original legislation already contained a longer transition period for workplaces with fewer than 15 employees, which were not due to come under the scheme until July 1, 2027. Mr Carroll’s announcement effectively pushes the proposed commencement for larger employers to that same date.
Working from home has remained widespread since the pandemic. Victorian Parliamentary Library research said 36.2 per cent of Australian employees were working from home at least some of the time as of August 2025, with an estimated 429,400 Victorian employees following the common pattern of working remotely one or two days a week.
Business groups, however, argue a legislated entitlement is unnecessary because flexible arrangements are already widespread.
The Business Council of Australia welcomed Mr Carroll’s delay but called on him to go further and scrap the bill.
Business Council chief executive Bran Black said the decision showed the Premier was taking “the first steps towards listening to the concerns of the business community”.
But he said the organisation remained opposed to the legislation, arguing it would add to economic pressure in Victoria and risk discouraging investment and employment.
The BCA says four in five businesses already offer flexible working arrangements and argues decisions about remote work should be negotiated between employers and employees rather than imposed through state legislation.
A coalition of business and employer groups had issued a joint statement a day before Mr Carroll’s announcement calling for the bill to be abandoned, saying Victoria should instead focus on attracting investment, creating jobs and improving household confidence.
The Victorian Chamber has also welcomed the delay while maintaining that the legislation should be scrapped.
Ms Curtain described the bill as “completely unnecessary, costly and burdensome for Victorian businesses” and said the chamber hoped to persuade the Premier to abandon it.
The opposition has taken a different position, supporting the principle of work-from-home protections while seeking amendments.
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury said a September implementation would have given businesses only weeks to prepare and described some delay as reasonable. The Coalition has also sought changes including removing provisions it says could allow union officials to enter private homes being used as workplaces.
The Greens have attacked Mr Carroll from the opposite direction, accusing Labor of bowing to corporate pressure.
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said workers had been weeks away from receiving the new protections before business groups intensified their campaign.
She argued the delay would particularly affect women, carers and people with disability who can benefit from flexible working arrangements.
The political stakes are heightened by the timing.
Victoria’s state election will be held on November 28, while the new commencement date announced by Mr Carroll is more than seven months later.
That means voters will go to the polls knowing Labor intends to legislate the entitlement, but the scheme would not actually begin until well into the next parliamentary term.
Mr Carroll is now attempting to hold together two positions: retaining Labor’s promise to give eligible workers a statutory right to work from home while demonstrating to businesses that his government is prepared to reconsider how the policy operates.
For employers pushing for the bill to be scrapped, the delay has bought additional time but has not delivered the outcome they want. For workers expecting the new entitlement from September, the wait has become considerably longer.
The debate is now likely to continue through the election campaign as Labor, the Coalition, business groups and unions argue over how far government should go in determining where Victorians work.
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