Acting Melbourne Lord Mayor pans ‘bureaucratic and legal nightmare’ WFH laws

Loopholes in Victoria’s first-of-its-kind work-from-home laws would exclude apprentices, graduates and some casual workers.

Despite repeated assurances from Premier Jacinta Allan that full-time, part-time and casual workers will be covered by the two-day-a-week mandate, the first draft of the Bill shows apprentices, graduates and workers on probation are not covered.

Casual employees also must be working on a “regular and systemic basis”, the draft released on Tuesday says.

If a staffer working from home imposes “excessive” financial costs on the business, that too can force the worker into the office.

Looking to shield Melbourne’s commercial real estate and hospitality sectors, Acting Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell described the law as a “a bureaucratic and legal nightmare”.

“Not only is this state government legislation unnecessary, it creates a bureaucratic and legal nightmare for small businesses that are already doing it so tough,” Ms Campbell said in a statement.

“This legislation will do nothing to grow the state’s economy and is a long-term threat to every Victoria worker because a job that can be done from Pakenham is a job that can be done from the Philippines.”

The government claims working from home saves each worker on average $5308 a year. Ms Allan also says one-third of workers and 60 per cent of white collar workers regularly work from home, while the workforce participation rate is 4.4 per cent higher now than before the pandemic.

Melbourne CBD office occupancy rates exceeded 65 per cent in early 2026, the highest level since 2020, figures from major office space realtor CBRE show.

“Work from home works for families, it saves time and money and it gets more parents working,” Ms Allan said.

“That’s why we’re protecting work from home in law.”

Currently being debated in parliament, the Bill is slated to be passed and come into effect from September 1, legally enshrining the right to work from home two days a week.

A worker must provide their employer a “work from home notice”, and the business would be required to respond within 21 days.

A business can weigh up whether working from home decreases productivity, undermines the training of other employees or damages client and stakeholder relationships.

If the business and worker agree working from home is reasonable, the business is on the hook for all “essential” hardware and software and the cost for secure access to the business’ information systems.

Businesses with less than 15 employees will have until July 1 to comply.