Victoria's work-from-home bill blocked by coalition vote
Coalition and minor parties voted 18 to 17. They sent Victoria's two-days-a-week work-from-home bill to inquiry. This delayed it past the November election.
Victoria's landmark work-from-home laws stalled. Coalition and crossbench members voted 18 to 17.
They sent the bill to inquiry. The bill would have let full-time, part-time and casual workers ask for two days a week from home.
It would work on a pro-rata basis if workers could reasonably do this. The inquiry reports by October 20, well after parliament ends for November's election.
Premier Ben Carroll said Labor won't add a sitting week. The calendar had already been extended.
Government amendments limited the right to workers living in Victoria. They required employers to pay for laptops and software.
Businesses would get up to 28 days instead of 21 to respond to requests. Shadow Attorney-General James Newbury said the opposition supported the amendments and wouldn't oppose the bill.
But they voted with Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Jeff Bourman to delay it. Jess Wilson and the Liberal Party faced accusations of pretending to support the laws.
- 18 to 17
- Vote count
- Two days a week
- Work-from-home entitlement
- October 20
- Inquiry deadline
- One
- Sitting weeks before election
Why it mattersThis would have been Australia's first work-from-home law. Now it's a campaign issue. Its future depends entirely on the November election result.
AustraliaThousands of Victorian workers lose the chance to work from home two days a week as the bill's passage becomes hostage to the state election.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 8 h ago
