VICTORIAN EMPLOYERS — ACT BEFORE SEPTEMBER 2026
Your business is about to get a WFH request you cannot ignore.
From 1 September 2026, eligible Victorian employees have a legal right to work from home two days a week.
Not a right to ask. A right to do it. Are you ready?
*Members and retainer clients: this is included in your membership. Find out more.
⏱ The law commences 1 September 2026 for businesses with 15+ employees. That is less than 12 weeks away.
The law is about to change
This is not a flexible work request. It is a legal right.
Victorian employers are used to the Fair Work Act flexible work framework, where employees can ask and employers can refuse on reasonable business grounds. The new Victorian law changes that completely.
Before the Fair Work Act WFH
- Employee requests flexible work.
- Employer can refuse on reasonable business grounds.
- Dispute goes to the Fair Work Commission.
- Burden is roughly shared.
From 1 September 2026 — VIC Law
- Employee gives a WFH notice. No approval required.
- Employer must allow it unless it is not reasonable to do so.
- Dispute goes to VCAT, not the Fair Work Commission.
- Burden sits with the employer to justify the refusal.
Get this wrong and it will cost you.
Why this matters
A refusal that cannot be justified against the statutory factors in the Bill is not just awkward — it could be treated as discrimination under the Equal Opportunity Act. And unlike an unfair dismissal claim, there is no small business exemption.
VCAT, not the Fair Work Commission
A whole new dispute pathway, with different rules, different remedies, and a different burden of proof.
No documentation, no defence
If you cannot produce a written, reasoned refusal grounded in the statutory factors, you are exposed. Full stop.
No size
exemption
Every Victorian business is covered. Smaller businesses get until July 2027 — but the law still applies to them.
Think your roles are safe? Think again.
Real Scenarios
Here is how the law plays out across common Victorian business roles — and why the answer is rarely as simple as "that job can't be done from home."
Café floor supervisor requests 2 WFH days
GREEN — Strong grounds to refuse
- Hospitality roles are inherently on-site.
- Do they have any administrative duties that could be done from home?
- Strong grounds to refuse — but you still need to document it in writing within 21 days. Verbal brush-offs will not cut it at VCAT.
Hire Controller at Plant & Equipment Hire requests WFH 2 days
AMBER — Grey area
- Do they need to walk the yard, or do they mostly work the phones and computer?
- If your systems are cloud-based, a blanket refusal is hard to defend.
- You need to assess this role properly before responding.
Admin Assistant requests WFH 2 days
RED — High risk to refuse
- Almost everything they do can be done with a laptop.
- If you cannot name specific on-site duties that are core to the role, a refusal will not hold.
- Better to manage the arrangement than refuse it badly.
Customer Service Officer requests WFH 3 days
RED — High risk to refuse
- If your systems are cloud-based and the role is phone and screen-based, the grounds for refusal are very thin.
- Get a WFH policy in place and manage the arrangement with clear expectations.
What's Included
Everything you need to get compliant before September.
We have built this toolkit from the ground up using the actual statutory factors in the Bill, not general HR guidance. Every document is ready to use in the real world.
- Victorian WFH Employer Toolkit (PDF)
- Branded, designed guide covering the statutory factors, role matrix, real-world scenarios, and employer checklist. 15 pages.
- Role Assessment Matrix (Excel)
- 8-question spreadsheet with auto-populating traffic light outcomes (Green / Amber / Red) based on the statutory factors. Dropdown inputs, no formulas to build.
- Wording Library & Templates (Word)
- Ready-to-paste position description wording for 8 role types, plus all-staff announcement, WFH approved, and WFH declined templates.
- WFH & Flexible Work Policy Templates (Templates)
- Full WFH policy, Agreement, and Safety Checklist. Includes Victorian addendum covering the statutory refusal factors, cost obligations, and VCAT dispute pathway.
