The Business Council of Australia (BCA) advocates for an economically strong nation in the best interests of all Australians. Our members include many of Australia’s largest employers, employing over 250,000 Victorians. While we have long supported flexible working practices, and our members already offer a vast array of flexible working arrangements to their employees, we are concerned about the Victorian Government’s proposal to legislate an entitlement to work two days a week from home.
We consider that if this proposal becomes law, it risks:
- driving investment from Victoria;
- stifling Victorian and national businesses, large and small, by introducing duplicative red tape (noting workplace flexibility is already dealt with in Commonwealth law);
- undermining the true workplace flexibility sought by workers based on their individual circumstances by applying a ‘one size fits all’ approach; and
- increasing the divide between office and frontline workers.
In addition, we consider that Victoria lacks jurisdiction to legislate a right to work from home due to the referral of its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth.
On this basis, the proposal should not proceed.
Flexibility in working arrangements has become an important part of a modern workplace. The workplace relations system has already evolved to meet the needs of both workers and employers, and enshrined this in the National Employment Standards, which cover Victorian workers. Reverting to a one-size-fits-all approach to workplace relations undermines the flexibility and cooperation that are essential at the workplace level. Implementing rigid mandates risks driving investment away from Victoria, further exacerbating existing economic challenges.
We urge the Victorian Government to withdraw this proposal and, instead, focus on measures that will increase the likelihood of attracting investment.