Tanya Plibersek says Federal Government supports work-from-home policies

Senior Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has been grilled on if Labor will look to overturn new work-from-home legislation being introduced in Victoria to enshrine two days of WFH per week as a right or introduce it themselves.

Ms Plibersek said the Government supported working from home as long as it could be done “sensibly”, but the legislation was ultimately a matter for the Victorian Government.

“We’re making it very clear that we support work from home at a federal level as long as it can be done sensibly in negotiation between employers and employees,” Ms Plibersek said on Sunrise.

“We’ve got a lot of public servants, for example, who work a couple of days a week from home. It’s supported productivity.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced plans to legislate WFH protections for workers who could “reasonably” carry out their duties from home.

Ms Allan said the reform was about recognising modern work patterns and protecting employees from having flexible arrangements arbitrarily revoked.

“It’s working now, but we know that we need to protect it,” Ms Allan said on Today.

“We need to protect it for workers but also make it really clear for employers as well who are already doing this that working from home should be a right, not a request.”

When asked if the federal government supported or would overrule the proposed legislation, Ms Plibersek said how the plan would work was up to the Victorian government.

“That’s up to the Victorian government. We’re not going to put a tick or a cross,” she told Sunrise.

Ms Plibersek acknowledged remote work wasn’t possible for some professions, but the benefits were clear where it could be used.

“If you’re a nurse in emergency, you can’t work from home. If you’re a bus driver, you can’t work from home. But we support work from home for Australian workers where it’s practical, that fits in with the requirements of their job,” she said.

“Our position as a Commonwealth government is very clear. We support work from home.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce has raised “major concerns” on whether the plan could create “inequality” in the workforce due to the small percentage of people being granted such a right.

Concerns have also been raised by the chamber about whether the WFH proposal is unconstitutional if enterprise bargaining agreements are already in place, as they operate under the federal jurisdiction.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce criticised the idea of legislating WFH rights, calling it “silly” and warning against government interference in workplace agreements.

“I think it’s something that’s got to be worked out between the employer and the employee, and legislating that you can is just as silly as saying you’re not allowed to,” Mr Joyce said on Sunrise.

“It’s not for us to jump into that space, but the Government legislating is doing precisely that … I don’t think the Government should be there.”

Despite the concerns, Ms Plibersek said support for WFH remained high.

“We know that Australians value it and when Peter Dutton tried to get rid of it in the last election, there was quite a backlash,” she said.