Alex is Sprintlaw's co-founder and principal lawyer. Alex previously worked at a top-tier firm as a lawyer specialising in technology and media contracts, and founded a digital agency which he sold in 2015.
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If your phone buzzes after dinner with “quick questions” or late-night emails, you’re not alone. The “always on” culture has crept into many workplaces, and it’s taken a toll on wellbeing and productivity.
Australia’s new Right to Disconnect aims to rebalance expectations. It gives employees the ability to refuse unreasonable work contact outside their work hours, and it gives employers a clear framework to manage urgent needs without burning people out.
In this guide, we break down what the Right to Disconnect means in practice, when it applies, and how to update your contracts and policies so your team (and business) can thrive.
What Is the Right to Disconnect?
The Right to Disconnect is a new protection in the Fair Work Act that lets employees refuse to monitor, read or respond to work communications (calls, emails, messages) outside their working hours if the contact-or the employee’s response-is unreasonable.
It doesn’t ban all after-hours contact. Instead, it asks a simple question: given the circumstances, would it be reasonable to expect the employee to engage?
What makes contact “reasonable” or “unreasonable”?
Fair Work takes a practical view. Key factors include:
- Urgency and purpose of the contact (e.g. a safety incident vs. a routine update)
- The employee’s role, seniority and level of responsibility
- Whether the employee is compensated for availability (e.g. on-call allowance)
- Personal circumstances (for example, carer responsibilities)
- How often the contact occurs and the time of day/night
- Any existing agreement about availability or rostering
Think of it as a “reasonableness test” rather than a bright line. You can still reach someone after hours when it truly matters, but routine or avoidable requests should wait.
When Does the Right to Disconnect Apply in Australia?
The Right to Disconnect provisions start on different dates depending on the size of your business:
- Large employers: operative from 26 August 2024
- Small businesses (fewer than 15 employees): operative from 26 August 2025
Employees can raise concerns internally first. If it escalates, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) can make “stop orders” to prevent unreasonable contact or unreasonable refusals to engage. Breaching an FWC order can attract penalties.
Who is covered?
Most national system employees are covered, with some exceptions. For award-covered employees, enterprise agreement terms also need to align with the new laws.
How does this intersect with hours and rostering?
The Right to Disconnect sits alongside existing rules for maximum hours of work, rostering, breaks and overtime. If you regularly need out-of-hours work, make sure it’s captured by lawful rosters, allowances and overtime arrangements.
How Should Employers Update Policies And Contracts?
You don’t need to start from scratch. Most businesses can align with the new framework by clarifying availability expectations and building “reasonableness” into everyday processes.
1) Refresh contracts and position descriptions
State standard hours clearly, define when availability is expected (if at all), and specify any allowance or overtime that compensates for on-call time. If you are hiring, ensure your Employment Contract reflects hours, breaks, rostering and how urgent after-hours contact is handled.
2) Update policies (and make them practical)
Introduce or refine a Right to Disconnect or “contact outside hours” policy. This policy often sits alongside a Mobile Phone Policy, email and communication protocols, and wellbeing policies. Bundle them into a clear staff handbook so managers and staff know exactly what’s expected.
3) Tighten rostering and scheduling
Make sure after-hours work is planned and compensated, not ad hoc. If your operations need flexible coverage, check your legal obligations for rostering and build predictable patterns wherever possible.
4) Clarify escalation paths and “what’s urgent”
Spell out what qualifies as urgent (e.g. safety risks, security incidents, system outages, time-critical client deliverables) and who can initiate after-hours contact. Empower employees to flag non-urgent requests for the next shift.
5) Train managers and lead by example
Leaders set the tone. Encourage delayed-send emails, shared calendars with “quiet hours,” and team norms that support healthy boundaries.
6) Align pay, overtime and TOIL
If after-hours work is needed, ensure it’s lawful and fairly compensated, whether through overtime, allowances or time off in lieu (TOIL). Cross-check obligations in any applicable modern award or enterprise agreement and review your overtime rules and rates.
Managing After-Hours Contact: Practical Scenarios
Here are common scenarios, and how the Right to Disconnect changes the conversation.
Scenario 1: Routine admin at night
A manager texts at 9:30pm for a non-urgent report due next week. This is unlikely to be reasonable. Best practice is to schedule the message for working hours.
Scenario 2: Safety incident
An on-site safety issue arises and the manager calls the health and safety rep after hours. If the rep is the responsible person and the situation is time-critical, contact is likely reasonable.
Scenario 3: Client escalation
A major client’s system is down and service-level agreements require immediate action. Contacting the on-call engineer is reasonable-especially if the employee is paid an availability allowance or overtime applies.
Scenario 4: Short-notice roster change
Operations require a shift swap for the next morning. Contacting potential replacements can be reasonable, but keep messages minimal and avoid repeated follow-ups. Confirm that any changes comply with roster and notice rules.
Scenario 5: Executive roles
Senior leaders often have broader responsibilities. Expectations should still be clear and proportionate-compensation and flexibility should reflect the after-hours load, and non-urgent matters should wait where possible.
What Laws Still Apply Alongside the Right to Disconnect?
The Right to Disconnect doesn’t replace your baseline employment obligations-it works with them. Keep these areas front of mind:
- Hours and breaks: Ensure work patterns comply with weekly maximum hours and break entitlements. Regular after-hours contact can push employees over lawful limits if not managed.
- Overtime and TOIL: If after-hours work occurs, apply the correct overtime rules or agree on TOIL where lawful and recorded properly.
- Mental health and wellbeing: Repeated after-hours requests can affect wellbeing. Employers have obligations regarding employee mental health, so policies should support reasonable workloads and boundaries.
- Workplace policies and conduct: Clear protocols for communications, devices and out-of-hours expectations belong in your workplace policy suite and manager training.
- Awards and enterprise agreements: Many industry awards contain rules on rostering, overtime, allowances and breaks. The Right to Disconnect doesn’t override these-comply with both.
- Record-keeping: Keep reliable records of actual hours, on-call periods, and any overtime or TOIL granted. This protects both the business and employees.
How To Implement the Right to Disconnect in Your Business
Here’s a practical roadmap to get compliant and support balance without compromising operations.
1) Map your after-hours needs
Identify which roles genuinely need availability, the types of incidents that trigger contact, and the expected frequency. Clarify the “why”-it helps you draw clean lines between urgent and routine.
2) Update documents
Adjust job descriptions, availability requirements and compensation in contracts. Refresh your staff handbook, adding a contact-outside-hours section and cross-referencing your device/email guidelines and wellbeing resources.
3) Set team norms
Encourage delayed send, use of status/working hours in calendars, and escalation paths that don’t default to the same person. Make “is this urgent?” a standard check before contacting someone after hours.
4) Train managers
Run short sessions on the new laws, reasonableness factors and your internal process. Managers should role-model the behaviour and use scheduling tools thoughtfully.
5) Monitor and adjust
Collect feedback after the first month, look at contact patterns and push further changes where needed. The goal is sustainable operations and a healthy team.
FAQs: Quick Answers To Common Questions
Is all after-hours contact now banned?
No. Contact is still okay where it’s reasonable-think genuine urgency, responsibility level, and compensation for availability. Routine or avoidable matters should wait until working hours.
Can an employee face consequences for refusing after-hours contact?
Employees are protected from adverse action for reasonably exercising the Right to Disconnect. If a dispute arises, the FWC can make orders to stop unreasonable contact or unreasonable refusal.
What if my business needs 24/7 coverage?
That’s fine-plan for it. Use lawful rosters, on-call arrangements, allowances and clear escalation paths. Make sure contracts and policies reflect these expectations.
Do we need a standalone Right to Disconnect policy?
It’s helpful but not mandatory. Many businesses incorporate the rules into an overarching communications or device policy and include a simple, plain-English summary in the staff handbook.
Key Takeaways
- The Right to Disconnect lets employees refuse unreasonable after-hours contact, but urgent or genuinely necessary contact can still be reasonable.
- Reasonableness depends on urgency, role, compensation for availability, personal circumstances, frequency and time of contact.
- Large employers must comply from 26 August 2024; small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) from 26 August 2025.
- Update your Employment Contracts, rostering practices and policies (including workplace policies and your staff handbook) so expectations and compensation are clear.
- Keep aligning with related rules-maximum weekly hours, breaks, overtime and TOIL-to avoid compliance gaps.
- Train managers and set team norms that support healthy boundaries and a high-performing, sustainable culture.
If you’d like a consultation on implementing the Right to Disconnect in your workplace, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.
