Overview

• Premier Jacinta Allan has launched a formal consultation on a draft bill to enshrine a right for public and private sector workers to work from home two days a week under state anti-discrimination laws.
• Lawyers including Stephen Smith and Professor Andrew Stewart warn the state legislation would overstep powers ceded to the Commonwealth in 1996 and be invalid if inconsistent with the federal Fair Work Act.
• The Victorian Chamber of Commerce cautioned that diverging from the national industrial relations system could drive businesses interstate and lead to job losses.
• Opposition industrial relations minister Tim Wilson denounced the proposal as a ‘stunt over substance’, accusing the government of gaslighting Victorian workers.
• Following consultations, the government intends to introduce and potentially pass the legislation next year as part of its broader strategy to pressure federal workplace reform.