Right to Disconnect Australia 2025 - What Employers Need To Know
- Future Accounting
- Aug 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 28
Written by: Chris Mulcahy
How to prepare your business for the right to disconnect Australia 2025
Starting 26 August 2025, the Right to Disconnect Australia 2025 laws will take effect, giving employees stronger protections around their personal time. This landmark change means employees can reasonably refuse after-hours calls, emails, or messages unless there is a legitimate business need.
For employers, especially family businesses and small-to-medium enterprises, now is the time to prepare. Here’s what you need to know to stay compliant while building a healthier workplace culture.
What the right to disconnect means for employers in Australia 2025
The new entitlement gives employees the legal right to say no to work contact outside their agreed hours.
In practice, this means:
Staff are not required to respond to late-night calls, emails, or texts.
Employers must respect boundaries unless there is a reasonable and urgent business need.
Disputes may be escalated to the Fair Work Commission if unresolved internally.
The law doesn’t ban all after-hours contact. Instead, it applies a reasonableness test:
Reasonable: contacting an on-call manager for urgent safety issues, emergencies, or time-sensitive matters.
Unreasonable: expecting admin staff to answer late-night emails, or routinely messaging employees outside normal hours.
Practical steps to prepare your business
Employers should act now to ensure policies, contracts, and practices align with the new rules.
Update workplace policies
Add a Right to Disconnect Policy to your handbook.
Spell out when after-hours contact may occur (e.g., emergencies, seasonal deadlines).
Set expectations for managers about respecting staff boundaries.
Review employment contracts
For roles requiring after-hours work (farm managers, IT support, directors), include on-call clauses with fair compensation.
Ensure ordinary hours are clearly defined for all other staff.
Train leaders and teams
Educate managers not to send routine messages after hours. Encourage use of delayed send features.
Support employees to assert their rights respectfully (e.g., “I’ll action this in work hours”).
Adjust communication practices
Reserve urgent channels for genuine emergencies.
Use scheduling tools like Outlook delayed send or Slack do-not-disturb.
Consider rostering systems if 24/7 coverage is required.
Family business considerations
Family businesses often blur the line between work and personal life. With the Right to Disconnect Australia 2025 in place, it’s important to formalise boundaries:
Casual calls and texts: Even among family members, if they are employees, the law applies.
Seasonal pressures (harvest, EOFY): Reasonableness allows flexibility, but employers should document why contact is necessary and compensate fairly.
Governance: Family boards or councils should adopt the policy to model good practice for staff.
Managing risks and compliance
The risks of non-compliance are more than just legal.
Legal risks: Breaches can lead to disputes at the Fair Work Commission.
Best protection: Keep clear written policies, update contracts, and apply rules consistently.
Wellbeing benefits: Respecting boundaries reduces burnout, improves retention, and supports a positive workplace culture.
Sample right to disconnect policy clause
“Employees are not required to monitor or respond to work communications outside their normal working hours unless the matter is urgent and it is reasonable for them to do so. Managers must avoid contacting employees outside working hours except in emergencies or where prior arrangements have been agreed.”
Take action now to prepare
The Right to Disconnect Australia 2025 laws are now here. Use this as an opportunity to review HR compliance and also strengthen workplace culture and staff wellbeing.
At Future Accounting Group, we help family businesses and SMEs get policies, contracts, and governance right. Book an appointment with us today to make sure you have everything covered.
Disclaimer
This article does not constitute financial advice and is for general information only. It does not take into account any individual’s personal objectives, situation or needs, and is not intended as professional advice. Any similarity to an individual’s personal circumstances and the examples provided in this article is purely coincidental. Any person acting upon such information without receiving specific advice, does so entirely at their own risk.
Authorisation under an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is not required in the provision of this article and the author plus Future Accounting Group Pty Ltd is not acting in its capacity as an Australian Financial Services Licence holder
Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.
