There have been changes to the Fair Work Act as part of the new ‘Closing Loopholes’ laws. The changes take effect at different times between December 2023 and August 2025.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has outlined the key changes introduced by the recent reforms; here’s a breakdown of what they mean for employers and employees.
Right to disconnect
Eligible employees will have a new ‘right to disconnect’ outside of work hours.
Employees will have the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. This means an employee can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or a third party.
The right also covers attempted contact outside of an employee’s working hours.
When working out whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable, the following factors must be considered:
- the reason for the contact
- how the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
- how much the employee is compensated or paid extra for:
- being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or
- working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
- the employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility
- the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
Other matters may also be considered.
It will be unreasonable for an employee to refuse to read, monitor or respond if the contact or attempted contact is required by law.
Stay informed about the latest updates—explore the other posts in our Fair Work Act changes series here.