Premier Ben Carroll pushes Victoria's contested work-from-home reform back to mid-2027 amid sustained pressure from employer groups
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has delayed the state's right-to-work-from-home laws by close to two years, pushing the scheme's start date from 1 September 2026 to 1 July 2027. The announcement came at a press conference on 11 August 2026, after weeks of sustained pressure from Victoria's business community over the reform's cost and hiring implications.
The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, the equal opportunity legislation Labor first introduced to parliament in June, would give eligible employees – including part-time and regular casual workers on a pro rata basis – a statutory right to work from home two days a week where it is reasonable to do so. It was drafted under former premier Jacinta Allan and was due to be debated in the upper house this week, with a start date of 1 September 2026 for most employers.
Carroll's move is a shift from his earlier signal that the reforms would proceed largely unchanged, and follows an escalating standoff between employer groups and the state government over the bill's dispute pathway.
Twelve business and employer groups, including the Business Council of Australia and the Property Council of Australia, issued a joint statement this week arguing the reform was unnecessary given how widely flexible work is already offered. "This Bill is a solution trying to find a problem that does not exist," the groups said.
Carroll said the delay would give his government more time to consult industry before the laws take effect. "I want Victoria to be open for business; I want it to be thriving," he told the Australian Financial Review. He said he remained committed to legislating the two-day right but would consider "commonsense amendments" during the extended consultation period.
For HR leaders, the delay buys planning time but does not remove the obligation to prepare. The bill's underlying architecture – disputes running through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and, if unresolved, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal – remains unchanged. With a state election due on 28 November 2026, HR teams should treat the policy as delayed, not shelved, and continue reviewing which roles could reasonably support remote work under the proposed test.
