Right to Disconnect Policy in Australia: How it Works

If you run a small business, you’ve probably felt the “always on” pressure yourself. Clients message after hours. Team chats keep pinging. Emails keep coming. And before you know it, the workday doesn’t really end - for you or your staff.

That’s exactly where Australia’s “right to disconnect” comes in. It’s a workplace change that affects how (and when) employees can be contacted outside their work hours, and it has real consequences for policies, rosters, and management culture.

The good news is that with a clear right to disconnect policy (and the right supporting documents), you can set expectations early, reduce burnout, and avoid disputes - without losing the flexibility your business needs.

Below, we’ll walk you through how the right to disconnect works in Australia, what a compliant policy should cover, and the practical steps you can take to implement it.

What Is The Right To Disconnect In Australia?

The “right to disconnect” is a workplace right that relates to employees refusing contact outside their working hours - where that refusal is reasonable. In plain terms, it aims to stop work from creeping into personal time through calls, emails, texts, and messaging apps.

This isn’t about banning after-hours contact entirely. It’s about setting boundaries and making sure employees aren’t expected to be available 24/7 unless their role genuinely requires it.

Why Does This Matter For Small Businesses?

For many small businesses, responsiveness is part of the brand. You might pride yourself on quick replies and being available for customers.

But if your business relies on employees being available after hours (even informally), that can create legal and people-management risks, including:

• stress and burnout (and higher turnover)
• disputes about unpaid work time
• confusion about what “urgent” actually means
• inconsistent expectations between managers and teams

A well-drafted right to disconnect policy helps you keep service standards high while still respecting employee boundaries.

Does The Right To Disconnect Mean Employees Never Have To Respond?

No. The key concept is reasonableness.

There are many situations where after-hours contact is reasonable - for example, genuine emergencies, critical safety issues, major outages, or agreed on-call arrangements. The aim is to avoid routine “just quickly” requests becoming the norm.

Who Does It Apply To And What Counts As “Contact”?

The right to disconnect is relevant across most industries and roles, but how it applies in practice depends on your workplace context.

What Types Of Contact Are We Talking About?

“Contact” isn’t just phone calls. In most workplaces it includes things like:

• emails
• SMS messages
• calls and voicemails
• messages on Slack, Teams, WhatsApp or other chat tools
• task notifications from project tools
• social media DMs (if employees manage business accounts)

If you’re unsure what should be included, it’s helpful to map out the channels your team actually uses - and then decide which ones are considered “work contact” after hours.

Does It Apply To Remote Work And Hybrid Teams?

Yes, and in some ways remote work makes it more important. When people work from home, the boundary between “at work” and “at home” can blur quickly.

If your team is remote or hybrid, it’s a good idea to pair your right to disconnect policy with clear communication expectations, including how you use chat tools and response times. This links closely with broader workplace communication expectations.

What About Managers And Senior Staff?

Senior roles sometimes come with extra responsibility and flexibility - but that doesn’t automatically mean the person is “on call” 24/7.

If your business genuinely needs a manager to be reachable outside normal hours, you should make that expectation clear and structure it properly (including considering pay and workload), rather than relying on unspoken assumptions.

How Do You Create A Right To Disconnect Policy (Step-By-Step)?

A right to disconnect policy works best when it’s practical. If it’s too vague, managers won’t know what to do. If it’s too strict, it won’t fit real business needs.

Here’s a step-by-step approach many businesses use.

1. Define “Working Hours” And “After Hours” For Your Business

Start with the basics: when are employees actually expected to be working?

This might include:

• standard office hours (e.g. 9am–5pm)
• rostered hours for shift-based teams
• reasonable additional hours (if that applies to senior roles)
• different time zones (if you have interstate or overseas clients)

The clearer you are here, the easier it is to apply the rest of the policy consistently.

2. Set Clear Expectations For Contact Outside Working Hours

Your policy should explain:

• when after-hours contact may happen (e.g. emergencies, handovers, urgent client issues)
• who is allowed to contact employees (e.g. direct manager only, not clients)
• what channels should be used for urgent contact (e.g. phone call, not a Slack message)
• expected response times (if any) and when “no response” is acceptable

A simple rule many businesses use is: “If it can wait until tomorrow, it should.”

3. Create A Simple “Urgent vs Non-Urgent” Framework

One of the biggest causes of conflict is disagreement about what is “urgent”. You can reduce that risk by including examples, such as:

• Urgent: safety incident, major system outage, security breach, emergency staffing gap for the next shift
• Not urgent: routine questions, “quick edits”, scheduling next week’s meeting, general admin follow-ups

This gives managers a reference point and gives staff confidence that boundaries are real.

4. Align The Policy With Your Tech And Devices

If your business uses mobile phones, BYOD (bring your own device), or chat tools, the policy should match how your team actually works.

For example, you might include practical steps like:

• using “schedule send” for emails
• turning off non-urgent notifications after hours
• setting up an after-hours voicemail message
• using a shared inbox instead of direct messaging employees

This is also where a mobile phone policy can support the boundaries you’re trying to set.

5. Train Managers On How To Apply It Fairly

Even the best policy can fail if managers don’t apply it consistently.

It’s worth running a short training session that covers:

• what the right to disconnect means in your business
• how to decide if contact is reasonable
• what to do if a client contacts staff directly
• how to escalate genuine emergencies

This is especially important if you have team leaders who were promoted internally and may be managing people for the first time.

How Do You Handle On-Call Work, Emergencies And Shift-Based Businesses?

For many businesses, after-hours work isn’t rare - it’s essential. Think healthcare, IT support, hospitality, trades, logistics, or any business with extended trading hours.

The right to disconnect doesn’t stop you from operating. But it does push you to formalise what “availability” means and make sure it’s handled properly.

On-Call Arrangements Need To Be Clear (And Usually Paid)

If an employee is expected to be available outside their rostered hours, you’re moving into on-call territory.

On-call obligations often interact with award coverage, enterprise agreements, and contract terms. It’s not just a policy issue - it’s also a pay and compliance issue.

Depending on the situation, you may need to consider:

• an on-call allowance
• minimum engagement / call-out rules
• fatigue management and safe hours
• how on-call time is recorded and approved

It’s also worth making sure your payroll and rostering process supports the arrangement, because disputes often arise when after-hours work is performed but not properly tracked or paid. This is where understanding paying employees on call becomes very practical.

Shift Changes And After-Hours Messages

If you run shifts, a common issue is last-minute changes or cancellations being sent by message after hours. Even if you think it’s convenient, employees can reasonably treat after-hours roster messages as “work contact”.

A strong approach is to:

• limit roster changes to a roster system (instead of personal texts)
• set a cut-off time for non-urgent scheduling messages
• have a clear escalation process for genuine last-minute emergencies

What Counts As A Genuine Emergency?

This will differ by industry, but your policy should spell out what your business considers “emergency contact”.

For example:

• a safety incident or injury
• a serious data breach or suspected cyberattack
• a critical failure that stops the business operating (e.g. POS system down)
• an unavoidable staffing gap that would prevent you opening

When you define this upfront, you avoid the “everything is urgent” trap.

What Else Should You Update (Contracts, Workplace Policies And Privacy Practices)?

A right to disconnect policy shouldn’t sit in isolation. It works best when it’s consistent with your employment documents, your workplace expectations, and how you manage technology and personal data.

Employment Contracts

If you want enforceable, consistent expectations, your contracts should reflect how the role operates - including ordinary hours, reasonable additional hours (if relevant), and any agreed on-call requirements.

It’s often worth reviewing your Employment Contract wording when you roll out a right to disconnect policy, especially if your business has grown and informal practices have become “the way we do things”.

Workplace Policies

In many businesses, the right to disconnect will interact with other policies, such as:

• communications and conduct policies (how you use email, messaging tools and group chats)
• phone/BYOD policies
• leave and time-off expectations
• performance management (so people aren’t rewarded for overwork)

If you’re building out a suite of policies, a central Workplace Policy framework can help keep everything consistent and easier to manage.

Privacy And Monitoring (Be Careful Here)

Some employers try to “solve” after-hours work by monitoring messages or checking when employees are online.

This can create new risks. If you monitor communications, access work accounts, or use device management tools, you should consider privacy and surveillance obligations carefully, including how transparent you are with staff.

For example, if your business has access to staff email accounts or inboxes, it’s important to have clear rules and boundaries around employer access to employee emails.

As a general rule, clarity and consent go a long way. You want employees to trust the policy is about healthy boundaries - not increased surveillance.

Make It Practical: Put The Policy Where People Will Actually See It

A policy that’s buried in a folder no one reads won’t change behaviour.

Common ways to make it “real” include:

• adding it to onboarding
• including a short summary in your team handbook
• pinning a one-page version in your team chat
• including it in manager training

The goal is for everyone to know what’s expected - and to feel comfortable raising concerns early.

Key Takeaways

• The right to disconnect is about employees being able to refuse unreasonable contact outside working hours, while still allowing reasonable after-hours contact where the role genuinely requires it.
• A right to disconnect policy works best when it clearly defines working hours, what counts as urgent contact, and which channels should be used.
• If you rely on after-hours availability, you should formalise on-call arrangements and ensure pay and rostering practices match what’s expected.
• Your policy should align with your employment contracts, workplace policies, and the way your team uses phones, email and messaging tools.
• Clear, consistent manager training is essential - inconsistent after-hours expectations are where disputes and burnout often start.
• Getting the policy right early can reduce risk, support staff wellbeing, and improve retention without sacrificing operational flexibility.

If you’d like help putting a right to disconnect policy in place (or reviewing your employment contracts and workplace policies to match how your business actually operates), you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.