Australia’s ‘Right to Disconnect’ Law: A Lifeline for Stressed Workers

A new “right to disconnect” law in Australia went into effect Monday, allowing Australian workers to ignore their bosses after work hours.
Effective immediately, Australian workers now have the legal right to ignore work-related calls, messages, and emails outside of their official work hours.
One of the purposes of the law is to protect employees from excessive work demands that can lead to burnout and stress. “We want to ensure that people aren’t expected to be on call 24/7,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in an interview with national broadcaster ABC. “It’s a mental health issue, and it’s crucial for individuals to disconnect from work and reconnect with their personal lives.”
While the law has been widely praised by worker unions, industry groups have expressed concerns about the potential ambiguity surrounding “reasonable” reasons for out-of-hours contact.
Fair Work, Australia’s workplace relations regulator, has clarified that tribunals may order workers to cease “unreasonably refusing” out-of-hours contact, but employers must also refrain from making unreasonable demands.
Factors such as the reason for contact, the nature of the work, and compensation for additional work will be considered in determining whether such contact is justified.
The new law is a significant step towards addressing the pervasive issue of unpaid overtime in Australia.
According to a survey by the Australia Institute, Australians worked an average of 280 hours of unpaid overtime last year, equivalent to more than seven standard work weeks. This translates to an estimated loss of over 130 million dollars in income annually.