A new “right to disconnect” law has been introduced in Australia, offering employees protection from work-related communications outside of their designated work hours. Effective from Monday, this law ensures that employees cannot be penalized for not responding to work-related emails, texts, or calls after work hours, except in certain reasonable circumstances.
Under the new law, employees are allowed to ignore work communications unless there is a genuine emergency or their job requires irregular hours. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) will assess the reasonableness of an employee’s refusal to respond, considering the nature of the contact and the employee’s circumstances. The FWC has the authority to impose penalties of up to A$19,000 for individuals and A$94,000 for companies that violate the law.
John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology, noted the shift brought by digital technology, saying, “Before we had digital technology there was no encroachment, people would go home at the end of a shift and there would be no contact until they returned the following day.” This sentiment is echoed by Rachel Abdelnour, who works in advertising and advocates for the importance of such laws, emphasizing the need to disconnect from constant work-related connectivity.
The Australia Institute reported that Australians worked an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, valued at A$130 billion ($88 billion). Australia now joins a growing list of countries, including France, which introduced similar laws in 2017. France has already enforced these regulations, fining companies like Rentokil Initial for violating the “right to disconnect.”
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