Right To Disconnect Law: Essential Australian Employer’s Guide

Digital tools and flexible work have made it easier to collaborate – and harder to switch off. Many teams now work across time zones, juggle remote schedules and use messaging apps that never sleep. It’s no surprise that the “always on” culture has become a major wellbeing and compliance issue for employers in Australia.

Australia’s new Right to Disconnect is now law. It creates clear boundaries around after-hours contact and gives employees a workplace right to switch off outside their ordinary hours, unless refusing contact would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

In this guide, we break down what the Right to Disconnect means in practice, when it starts, how the “reasonableness” test works, and the steps you can take to update your contracts, policies and day‑to‑day practices. Our goal is to help you stay compliant, protect your culture and keep productivity high – without the legal headaches.

What Is the Right to Disconnect (And When Does It Start)?

The Right to Disconnect is an amendment to the Fair Work Act that gives employees the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work communications outside their ordinary working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable.

It applies to most national system employers across Australia, from startups through to large organisations.

Start dates you need to know

• Non‑small business employers (15 or more employees): the right applies from 26 August 2024.
• Small business employers (fewer than 15 employees): the right applies from 26 August 2025.

These staged start dates give smaller teams more time to adjust policies, systems and expectations.

How disputes are managed

If issues arise, employees and employers should try to resolve them internally first. If the matter can’t be resolved, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) can make “stop orders” or other orders about the Right to Disconnect.

Important: civil penalties apply for breaching an FWC order. There isn’t a general fine for after‑hours contact itself – the risk of penalties arises if you contravene an order made by the Commission. Employees are also protected from adverse action for exercising this workplace right.

What Does “Unreasonable Refusal” Mean in Practice?

The Right to Disconnect isn’t an absolute ban on after‑hours contact. The law focuses on whether an employee’s refusal to engage with out‑of‑hours contact would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

When assessing reasonableness, factors may include:

• The nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility.
• How the contact is made and how often (e.g. a one‑off text vs repeated calls).
• Whether the employee is compensated for availability (e.g. on‑call allowance or overtime).
• The urgency or necessity of the issue (e.g. safety incidents or critical outages).
• Personal circumstances (e.g. caring responsibilities, known fatigue risks).
• Whether the employee is on approved leave, or time off in lieu.

Examples can help clarify the line:

• Likely reasonable: contacting an IT manager after hours about a major outage that’s stopping trading, where their role includes a rostered on‑call component with appropriate compensation.
• Unlikely reasonable: messaging a staff member on annual leave for a minor, non‑urgent question that could wait until they return.
• Borderline: sending a late‑night email with a delayed delivery expectation (e.g. “no action required until tomorrow”) – better practice is to schedule send or clarify the response timeframe to remove pressure.

Reasonableness will depend on the specific facts, any relevant modern awards or enterprise agreements, and what your contracts and policies say about hours, on‑call duties and compensation.

How Should Employers Prepare? Practical Steps

Good preparation can reduce disputes, protect your team’s wellbeing and support productivity. Here’s a practical plan you can follow.

1) Clarify roles, hours and compensation

Start with the basics. Make sure each role has clear ordinary hours and clear expectations about after‑hours contact. If you genuinely need availability, build it into the role properly with rostered on‑call duties and appropriate compensation (such as allowances or overtime or time‑off‑in‑lieu arrangements).

Update each Employment Contract and role description so they’re consistent with the law. Avoid vague clauses that imply 24/7 responsiveness, and be explicit about when (and how) contact may occur.

2) Introduce or update your policies

A clear policy framework helps everyone know where they stand. Consider introducing a Right to Disconnect policy and reflecting those rules in your broader Staff Handbook. At a minimum, your Workplace Policy should cover:

• Ordinary working hours for different roles or teams.
• When after‑hours contact is appropriate (e.g. emergencies, rostered on‑call).
• How to make contact (e.g. call vs message) and how often.
• Expectations around delayed send and response timeframes.
• Steps for raising concerns if staff feel pressured to respond outside hours.

3) Train leaders and model good behaviour

Your managers set the tone. Run short, practical sessions on the Right to Disconnect and how to lead within the new settings. Include topics like workload planning, scheduling communications, and setting response expectations.

If you’re implementing new processes or tools, it’s worth building this into your approach to training employees so the message is consistent.

4) Tidy up communication practices

Small changes make a big difference. Encourage scheduling emails, using channel‑specific norms (e.g. “phone only for urgent safety issues”), and adding “no action required until…” to non‑urgent messages sent late. Make sure calendar settings reflect people’s ordinary hours and time zones.

5) Set up a fair and simple complaints pathway

Make it easy for employees to raise concerns early. A straightforward internal process can resolve most issues before they escalate. Ensure complaints are handled promptly, respectfully and with an eye to finding practical solutions that work for the team and the business.

What Should You Update? Contracts, Policies and Processes

As this law beds in, it’s smart to refresh the documents and processes that shape your team’s day‑to‑day experience.

• Employment Agreements: Define ordinary hours, clarify any on‑call expectations (if genuinely needed) and link them to compensation. Remove or amend clauses that could imply unlimited availability. Use a current Employment Contract template as your base.
• Position Descriptions: Spell out when after‑hours work is likely, how often, and how it’s compensated. Avoid generic “availability” phrases.
• Right to Disconnect Policy: Set boundaries for contact and responses, including examples and escalation steps. Incorporate it into your Staff Handbook so everything sits in one place.
• Scheduling and Rostering: Align rosters, on‑call rotations and handover practices so teams can genuinely switch off. The best policy can’t fix unrealistic workloads.
• Manager Guidance: Provide a short playbook (or training module) on leading within the new framework, so practices are consistent across the business.

If your business sits under an award or enterprise agreement, check for any interaction with hours of work, flexibility, allowances and overtime. Your modern awards obligations still apply alongside the Right to Disconnect.

Common Questions From Employers

Can we still contact employees after hours?

You can contact employees, and many businesses will continue to do so occasionally. The key question is whether it’s reasonable for an employee to refuse to engage at that time. If contact is truly urgent, or the employee is properly rostered and compensated to be available, that may weigh toward reasonableness.

Do we need an on‑call roster?

Only if your operations require after‑hours coverage. If you need it, roster it properly, communicate it clearly, and ensure compensation is aligned (for example, allowances plus overtime or time off in lieu where applicable). Don’t rely on informal “just in case” availability.

What about employees on leave?

Contacting employees on leave should be rare and well‑justified. In most cases, issues can wait for their return or be handled by someone else. Reaching out for non‑urgent matters while someone is on leave is unlikely to be considered reasonable.

Does this apply to contractors?

The Right to Disconnect is an employee entitlement. It generally doesn’t apply to genuine independent contractors, but you should still set clear scope, hours and deliverables in your contractor arrangements and avoid practices that blur employment and contracting.

Could discipline for non‑responsiveness cause legal risk?

Potentially. The Right to Disconnect is a workplace right. Taking adverse action against an employee because they exercised that right can expose you to general protections claims. Focus on clear expectations, good planning and fair processes rather than punitive measures.

Compliance Tips and Better Ways of Working

You can treat compliance as a productivity boost – not a constraint. Consider these practical tips:

• Plan for coverage: Build handovers and escalation paths so urgent work doesn’t rest with one person after hours.
• Be explicit about response times: Normalise “no response needed until…” on messages sent late or across time zones.
• Use your systems: Encourage delayed send, quiet hours and status settings to reduce unnecessary pings.
• Balance flexibility and boundaries: Flexible work is compatible with switching off. Agree on core hours, then let people structure their day without expecting off‑hours responsiveness.
• Review workloads regularly: If after‑hours contact is creeping up, it’s a signal to redistribute tasks or adjust priorities.
• Document your approach: Keep your Workplace Policy and Staff Handbook aligned with reality so everyone knows the rules and where to get help.

If you’re changing practices or tools, factor this into manager coaching and team training so expectations are consistent from day one.

Key Takeaways

• Australia’s Right to Disconnect is now law, with a staged start date: from 26 August 2024 for larger employers and from 26 August 2025 for small businesses.
• Employees can refuse to engage with after‑hours work contact unless that refusal is unreasonable. Reasonableness depends on factors like role, urgency, compensation and personal circumstances.
• The Fair Work Commission can issue stop orders if disputes arise. Civil penalties apply if you contravene an order; there isn’t a general “fine” for contact itself.
• Update your Employment Contracts, role descriptions and a clear Right to Disconnect policy, and embed these in your Staff Handbook.
• Plan for coverage, set realistic response expectations, train managers and align rosters and compensation (including overtime or allowances) where after‑hours availability is genuinely required.
• Awards and agreements still apply alongside the new law – keep an eye on your modern awards obligations and ensure your Workplace Policy reflects real‑world practice.

If you would like a consultation on preparing your business for the Right to Disconnect law, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no‑obligations chat.