‘Costly lemon’ or life-changing laws? Victoria to become first in Australia to offer right to work from home

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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/09/victoria-is-about-to-get-the-right-to-work-from-home-but-are-the-laws-a-costly-lemon-or-a-life-changer

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Up to two days per week still wouldn’t accommodate my disability, unfortunately. It’s good progress though.

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This part is slightly concerning:

The bill’s scope has also been tweaked – instead of employers having to prove that working from home would have a “significant adverse impact” on efficiency and productivity, they now only have to demonstrate a “material impact”.

On the other hand, business groups seem to be throwing a tantrum, suggesting the law still has enough teeth:

On Tuesday, a joint statement was released by the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and others, which said the amendments “do not fix a fundamentally flawed law that will risk Victoria’s economy and send jobs interstate”.

“The bill should be abandoned, and no amendment can fix its fundamental problems,” the groups said.

And of course, there’s also a risk of a future government undoing the whole thing, especially since it’s now delayed until mid 2027.

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Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

If they’re all lining up to condemn it, its probably a great idea.

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Neoliberals, doing neoliberal virtue-signaling dogshit, because they’re neoliberal corporate-whores.

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Some people are quite capable to be just as productive in a work-from-home environment. Others treat their work-from-home days as a way to slack off. Some people really struggle to WFH because they need the social interaction to stay motivated.

Lots of businesses run purely as a prestige hobby for a wealthy individual. They could make more ROI if they just invested the money, but feel good about providing a work environment for their employees, seeing themselves as benevolent feudal lords. If their employees are not onsite, they feel like they are being taken advantage of.

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