This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Work & employment
Australian workers would get a new minimum workplace right to switch off outside work hours under the National Employment StandardsThe set of minimum workplace entitlements that apply to covered employees; this bill would add a right to disconnect to them..
Workers were being contacted outside work hours and left having to monitor or answer emails, calls and other messages after hours. The bill creates a new National Employment Standard that bars that contact except for emergencies, genuine welfare issues, or paid availability periods.
As smartphones and constant connectivity blurred the line between work and personal time, the Greens and unions argued that many workers were effectively expected to stay available after hours. Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this Greens bill on 27 March 2023 to create a formal right to switch off. The standalone bill did not pass, but the issue carried into negotiations over Labor’s wider industrial relations packageThe wider set of workplace law changes that later carried the right to disconnect into government legislation., whose right-to-disconnect provisions passed both Houses on 12 February 2024 and began operating for larger employers in August 2024.
The main criticism was that the right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies. could make flexible work harder, create uncertainty about when after-hours contact is still allowed, and leave employers exposed to disputes over vague rules. These concerns were raised mainly by business groups, employer-side lawyers and some crossbench critics of the process, while no party represented in the debate speeches supplied here argued against the policy goal itself.
Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from Greens.
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
847 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
Australian workers would get a new minimum workplace right to switch off outside work hours under the National Employment StandardsThe set of minimum workplace entitlements that apply to covered employees; this bill would add a right to disconnect to them..
Employers would be barred from contacting staff outside their working hours unless there is an emergencyA urgent situation where the employer may still contact a worker outside normal hours., a genuine welfare issue, or the worker is being paid to stay available.
Employees would not have to monitor, read or answer work emails, calls, or other messages after hours unless they are being paid an availability allowanceExtra pay for a worker who has been told to stay reachable and available for work during a set period. for that period.
Workers paid an availability allowanceExtra pay for a worker who has been told to stay reachable and available for work during a set period. would still need to stay reachable when their employer has rostered or directed them to remain available for work.
4. Lists ‘the right to disconnect outside of working hours’ as a National Employment Standard. National Employment Standards are minimum standards that apply to the employment of employees.Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) explanatory memorandum
6. Inserts new clause 64A Right to Disconnect outside of work hours. The effect of the new clause is to include the right to disconnect in the National Employment Standards. The new clause states that an employer must not contact an employee outside of the employee’s hours of work unless:Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) explanatory memorandum
7. Subclause 64A(2) lists activities that an employee is not required to do outside their hours of work, unless they are in receipt of an availability allowance for the relevant period. These activities are monitoring, reading or responding to emails, telephone calls or any other kind of communication from an employer.Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) explanatory memorandum
8. Subclause 64A(3) defines availability allowance as an allowance for being rostered, or otherwise directed by an employer, to remain available to perform work during the period.Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) explanatory memorandum
Context
As smartphones and constant connectivity blurred the line between work and personal time, the Greens and unions argued that many workers were effectively expected to stay available after hours. Senator Barbara Pocock introduced this Greens bill on 27 March 2023 to create a formal right to switch off. The standalone bill did not pass, but the issue carried into negotiations over Labor’s wider industrial relations packageThe wider set of workplace law changes that later carried the right to disconnect into government legislation., whose right-to-disconnect provisions passed both Houses on 12 February 2024 and began operating for larger employers in August 2024.
Greens introduce a bill for a right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies.
Senator Barbara Pocock’s bill was introduced to add a right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies. outside working hours to the National Employment StandardsThe set of minimum workplace entitlements that apply to covered employees; this bill would add a right to disconnect to them..
Parliamentary timeline ↗Union campaign highlights after-hours work in offices
The Australian Services Union launched a campaign for a statutory right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies. after a survey of 154 clerical and administrative workers found seven in ten regularly worked outside agreed hours.
Australian Financial Review ↗Labor and the Greens strike a deal to carry the policy into government laws
The Australian Financial Review reported that Labor, the Greens and Senate crossbenchers were moving to deliver a right for workers to disconnect from unreasonable after-hours contact through the government’s industrial relations legislation.
Australian Financial Review ↗Right-to-disconnect protections pass both Houses
The right-to-disconnect provisions in Labor’s Closing Loopholes No. 2 package passed both Houses of Parliament after negotiations involving the Greens and crossbench.
Parliament of Australia ↗Right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies. begins for larger employers
The new rules took effect from Monday 26 August 2024 for businesses with 15 or more employees, allowing staff to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact rather than imposing a blanket ban on all contact.
Australian Financial Review ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main criticism was that the right to disconnectThe proposed rule that lets workers ignore work contact outside rostered hours unless an exception applies. could make flexible work harder, create uncertainty about when after-hours contact is still allowed, and leave employers exposed to disputes over vague rules. These concerns were raised mainly by business groups, employer-side lawyers and some crossbench critics of the process, while no party represented in the debate speeches supplied here argued against the policy goal itself.
Most recorded criticism focused on drafting, flexibility and consultation rather than rejecting workers’ right to switch off.
Could reduce flexible work
Employer groups and lawyers warned the measure could push workplaces back toward more rigid arrangements by making managers and staff more cautious about informal after-hours contact that supports flexible work and working from home.
Unclear rules could trigger disputes
Critics argued the law would be hard to apply because employers and workers may not know what counts as unreasonable after-hours contact, creating confusion and a risk of Fair Work CommissionThe workplace tribunal that could hear disputes about whether after-hours contact was unreasonable. disputes and compliance problems.
Rushed consultation and late amendments
Another criticism was that the measure was added and revised too late, with business groups and some crossbenchers saying rules affecting the whole workforce were being pushed through without proper public consultation and with last-minute amendments.
Votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Barbara Pocock supports the bill and urges the government to back it because she says workers need a legal right to switch off after paid hours and stop unpaid overtime, stress and burnout caused by constant availability.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“I urge the government to support this bill. Our current workplace laws were not drafted at a time when everyone had a smartphone in their pocket and a laptop with internet connecting their kitchen table to their worksite.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Lapsed at end of Parliament
Lapsed at end of Parliament
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
