The Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025, a private Senator’s bill introduced into the Australian Senate on 5 November 2025, proposes to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to give all employees a right to request to work from home for up to two days per week.
Why has this Bill been proposed?
Proponents argue that a statutory right to work from home (for up to two days per week) would bring a nationally consistent standard in contrast to the many varying work from home arrangements across employer policies and enterprise agreements. In addition, several benefits are argued in support of this new right which include:
- improving workforce participation and work-life balance;
- reducing commuting costs and absenteeism; and
- supporting gender equality.
What does the current law say? (Section 65 of the Fair Work Act)
Under the existing section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), only a certain category of employees can make a formal request for flexible working arrangements (including working from home) if they fall within a specific protected category. These categories include being pregnant, having a disability, having caring responsibilities, being 55 years of age or older, and experiencing family or domestic violence. As it stands currently, employees who do not fall within the specific categories do not have a statutory right to request a change in working arrangements, including to work from home.
What changes does the Bill Propose?
The Bill proposes significant amendments to the National Employment Standards (“NES”) flexible work provisions. The key proposed changes are:
- Universal eligibility Any employee, regardless of their personal circumstances, would gain the right to request to work from home for up to two days per week.
- A narrow and high-bar for employers to refuse the request An employer could only refuse an employee’s request to work from home if granting such a request would make the performance of the employee’s inherent duties impractical or impossible. This is a significantly higher and narrower threshold than the current “reasonable business grounds” test. Currently, when employers are assessing an employee’s request to work from home, the refusal by an employer on reasonable business grounds often considers impacts across business operational needs, productivity, team collaboration, training requirements, data security and supervision. While these impacts may currently support an employer’s refusal to accept an employee’s request to work from home, under the proposed new legislation, they would likely not be sufficient grounds for a refusal under the new test (being one of impractical or impossible).
- Reasonable adjustments: An employer would be required to consider any reasonable adjustments to accommodate the request when deciding whether a request to work from home would make the employee’s performance of their inherent duties impractical or impossible.
In summary, the Bill would transform what is currently a conditional right to ask (with broad employer discretion to refuse) into something much closer to a presumptive entitlement to work from home two days per week, subject only to very narrow exceptions.
What would be the biggest changes facing employers?
If the Bill passes in its current form, employers should be prepared for significant
impacts including an increase in request volume resulting from universal eligibility, a need to amend inconsistent policies (such as return-to-office policies), an increased risk of FWC disputes and complexity in equity and management.
What do employers need to do now?
The Bill is currently before a Senate inquiry. It would need to be debated and passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives before becoming law. This means no immediate action is required. To prepare proactively however you could:
- conduct a role audit to identify which positions in your organisation genuinely require physical presence as an inherent requirement, and document your reasoning;
- consider frontline leader and people and culture team training on the current flexible working arrangement obligations under section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and prepare them for possible changes ahead; and
- identify existing policies, procedures and employee handbooks that may need to be updated once the legislation is passed.
Require further information/assistance?
If have specific questions or require advice on this topic, please contact us.
This EMA Note is not comprehensive advice about your situation and does not cover all your obligations. If you require further information or advice, please contact your Consultant.
