Any worker could ask to work from home two days a week
Right now, only some workers can formally ask for flexible work, such as carers and parents. This bill would give that right to every worker. It would also make it harder for bosses to say no to two days at home.
Official name: Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025
- Every worker could ask for flexible work, whatever their life is like.
- A boss could only say no to up to two days a week at home if the job really could not be done that way.
- Bosses would have to think about fixes first, such as online meetings or giving you a laptop.
- The Fair Work Commission, the independent umpire for workplace rules, could rule on a refusal. Both sides would have to follow its ruling.
Who it affects
- Office and desk workers: They could ask for up to two days a week at home. A boss would need a strong reason to say no.
- Workers who are not carers and have no disability: They would get the same right to ask for flexible work that parents and carers have now.
- Employers: They would have to really talk with staff and look at fair fixes before saying no to working from home.
- Jobs that must be done on site: Bosses could still say no where working from home would make the main tasks of the job too hard or impossible.
Only some workers can ask
During COVID, many Australians worked from home. They showed that a lot of jobs can be done that way.
The Fair Work Act 2009 is the main law on jobs and pay. It does not give a general right to work from home.
Today, you can only formally ask for flexible work if you fit certain groups. You might be pregnant, a parent or a carer. You might have a disability or be 55 or older. You might face family violence.
Even then, your boss can say no on "reasonable business grounds". That is a fairly broad test.
Senator Barbara Pocock is a Greens senator. She brought this bill to the Senate, one of the two houses of Parliament. It is a private bill, which means the government did not bring it.
Her notes on the bill point to studies by the Productivity Commission and the Fair Work Commission. The Productivity Commission is the government's independent research body on the economy. The notes say these show flexible work helps keep staff and cuts sick days.
They also say flexible work helps some people find work. These include carers, older workers, people with disability and people in the country.
Every worker could ask
The bill would remove the list of special groups. Any worker could ask their boss to change how they work. That could mean different hours, a different set of days or a different place of work.
Your boss would have to really engage with you about it. The current law says they must talk about it. The new words ask for real effort to work it out together.
For most requests, the old test stays. A boss could still say no on fair business grounds, such as cost or what customers need.
Stronger right to home days
The bill creates a new kind of request. It is called a "work from home up to 2 days" request. It covers asking to work from home, or somewhere else away from the office, for up to two days a week.
For this kind of request, it is harder to say no. A boss could only say no if the change would make the main tasks of the job too hard or impossible.
The law calls these main tasks the inherent requirements. They are the parts that must be done for the job to be that job.
Before saying no, the boss must think about fair changes that could help. The notes give some examples. A boss could hold meetings online, or use online tools to check in. They could give staff a computer and a safe way to log in. They could set up ways to report on work.
Say you work in payroll, the team that pays staff. You ask to work from home on Mondays and Fridays. A boss who just likes you in the office would not have a good enough reason.
They would need to show the job really cannot be done from home, even with fixes like a laptop and video calls.
A barista or a nurse who asks the same thing could more easily be told no. That is because their work has to happen on site.
Fair Work settles disputes
The Fair Work Commission is the independent umpire for workplace rules. It can already help sort out fights about flexible work requests.
Under the bill, your boss might say no to a two-day request. The Commission could then decide whether the reason met the new test.
It would make an order saying the reason either stands or does not. Both sides would have to follow that order.
Waiting in the Senate
If it became law, the changes would start the day after it was signed into law. The Governor-General, the King's representative, signs bills into law. The changes would only cover requests made after that day.
Senator Pocock brought the bill to the Senate on 5 November 2025. That day the debate on its main idea also started. It is still waiting in the Senate.
For it to become law, the Senate would need to debate it and pass it. Then the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, would need to pass it too.
Bills from senators outside the government often wait a long time. Many never come to a vote.
Its journey through Parliament
| 05 Nov 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 05 Nov 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |