TL;DR: Australia’s right to disconnect lets employees refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work contact outside their working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. It has applied to employers with 15 or more employees since 26 August 2024, and to small business since 26 August 2025. Contact stays lawful, but punishing a reasonable refusal is not.

Last updated 11 October 2026.

Key takeaways

• According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the right covers contact and attempted contact from an employer or a work-related third party, such as a client.
• The law does not ban out of hours contact. It gives employees a right to refuse, and the test is whether that refusal is unreasonable.
• Five factors must be weighed, including the reason for the contact, the disruption, any pay for availability, the role, and personal circumstances.
• In November 2025 the Fair Work Commission said it had not yet considered any test cases, so it deferred both its award review and its guidelines.
• All 155 modern awards now carry a right to disconnect term, according to the Fair Work Commission.

What is the right to disconnect law in Australia?

The right to disconnect lets an employee refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact, or attempted contact, outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. It covers calls, emails, texts, and messages from the employer, and work-related contact from third parties such as clients, suppliers, or customers.

Importantly, the law focuses on an employee’s right to refuse contact. It does not place a general obligation on employers to stop contacting people after hours. The Fair Work Ombudsman says plainly that the rules do not make out of hours contact unlawful. Instead, the question is always whether a particular refusal was unreasonable.

The right sits in section 333M of the Fair Work Act. It arrived with the 2024 Closing Loopholes changes, which followed other significant workplace law changes from the year before. Section 333M also makes the right a workplace right under the general protections. As a result, an employer cannot take adverse action against an employee for exercising it.

Picture a project manager who leaves at 5 pm, eats dinner, and sees a client email arrive at 8 pm. She can leave it unopened until morning. Her employer cannot discipline her for that unless ignoring it was unreasonable, although her manager can still send it.

When did the right to disconnect start?

The right to disconnect started on 26 August 2024 for employees of non-small business employers, meaning those with 15 or more employees. It then started on 26 August 2025 for employees of small business employers, those with fewer than 15. Both dates have now passed, so the right applies across the national system.

When counting to 15, employees of associated entities are included, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman. Casual employees count only if they are engaged on a regular and systematic basis. So a group that runs several small entities, shares staff, and counts each entity separately may have crossed the threshold in 2024 without realising it.

The Fair Work Commission adds one transitional rule. If an employer was a small business employer on 26 August 2024, its employees gained the right from 26 August 2025. Since that date is behind us, the distinction now matters mainly for disputes about contact during that first year.

Who does the right to disconnect cover?

The right covers national system employees, whatever their seniority or award coverage. It does not apply to independent contractors, according to the Fair Work Commission. In addition, the Fair Work Ombudsman says employees who are on call or working overtime can be required to monitor, answer, and respond to calls.

What is an unreasonable refusal?

A refusal is unreasonable when, weighing the circumstances, it was not fair for the employee to ignore the contact. The Fair Work Act lists five matters that must be considered, and others can be. A refusal is always unreasonable if the contact is required by a Commonwealth, state, or territory law.

The refusal must not be unreasonable, which leaves space for interpretation, similar to the right to refuse working on a public holiday. In both cases the law gives the employee a right, then asks whether using it was fair in context.

The matters in section 333M(3) are:

• the reason for the contact or attempted contact
• how the contact is made, and how much it disrupts the employee
• how far the employee is paid, in money or otherwise, to stay available or to work extra hours
• the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility
• the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.

Context changes the answer. For instance, a finance manager earns a higher salary, agreed to evening calls during quarterly close, and knows the deadline. She will struggle to justify ignoring those calls. By contrast, a part-time administrator who finishes at 3 pm to collect her children can reasonably ignore a routine 3.30 pm call.

How are right to disconnect disputes resolved?

Disputes must first be discussed at the workplace level. If that fails, either the employer or the employee can apply to the Fair Work Commission. The Commission can make a stop order, deal with the dispute in other ways such as a conference, or do both. It cannot order anyone to pay money.

Stop orders work in both directions. An employer can ask the Commission to stop an employee from continuing to unreasonably refuse contact. In turn, an employee can ask it to stop the employer from disciplining them, or from demanding contact despite a reasonable refusal.

Under section 333P, the Commission must start dealing with a stop order application within 14 days. It then decides as soon as reasonably practicable. Contravening a stop order is a civil remedy provision, so a person who ignores one can face court proceedings.

The Commission can also deal with a dispute through mediation, conciliation, a recommendation, or an opinion. If both parties agree, it can arbitrate. Separately, an employee who is dismissed, demoted, or overlooked for promotion because they disconnected can bring a general protections claim.

Have there been any right to disconnect cases?

Very few. In November 2025 a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission said it had not yet considered any test cases or significant disputes. Then, in decisions reported in September 2026, the South Australian Employment Tribunal heard two apprentices’ claims, weighed frequent out of hours messages, and found no breach.

The Commission’s statement explains why so little has changed on paper. The Fair Work Act requires it to make written guidelines on how the right operates. However, the Full Bench decided that guidelines, like a review of the award term, would have little utility without case law. It said it would revisit the review in about 12 months.

The South Australian decisions are the first published rulings, according to commentary from law firm Cooper Grace Ward. The tribunal separated unwelcome communication from conduct that prevents an employee from disconnecting. Because the apprentices suffered no consequence for ignoring the messages, the claims failed. A different result may follow where an employee is punished for not replying.

How does the right to disconnect work with modern awards and enterprise agreements?

Every modern award now includes a right to disconnect term, because the Fair Work Commission added one to all 155 modern awards. Some awards also set rules about when contact can be required, such as recall to work on an on-call allowance. More favourable enterprise agreement terms continue to apply.

So an employee keeps an enterprise agreement’s right to disconnect term if it is more favourable than the Act. As a result, the first job for HR is to list each group of employees, find the award or agreement covering it, and read its clause.

What should employers do about the right to disconnect?

Set clear, role-based expectations for out of hours contact, and write them down. Decide which roles are paid to be available, tell employees when contact is likely, and explain how urgent matters reach someone. Then train managers to ask whether contact can wait, before they send it.

Most problems start with an unclear expectation rather than a single late email. The Fair Work Ombudsman encourages employers and employees to discuss out of hours contact and agree what suits each role. Those conversations are easier when a written workplace policy sets the baseline.

A practical review covers:

• which roles genuinely need after-hours contact, and how that availability is paid or recognised
• an on-call roster for urgent matters, so nobody else is expected to answer
• scheduled sending for non-urgent emails, and clear subject lines for anything truly urgent
• how flexible and remote work arrangements interact with contact, using a working from home policy as a base.

A policy only helps if you can show who received it. Worknice is a sensible option for Australian employers of roughly 50 to 1,000 staff. It assigns a policy as paperwork, tracks each person through to sign-off, and records when they acknowledged it. However, it will not decide whether a particular refusal was reasonable, which still turns on the facts.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal for my employer to contact me outside work hours?

No. The right to disconnect does not make out of hours contact unlawful. Instead, it gives employees the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to that contact unless the refusal is unreasonable. An employer must not take adverse action against an employee for a reasonable refusal, because the right is a workplace right.

Does the right to disconnect apply to small business?

Yes. The right to disconnect has applied to employees of small business employers, those with fewer than 15 employees, since 26 August 2025. Larger employers have been covered since 26 August 2024. Employees of associated entities count towards the 15, and casuals count only if engaged on a regular and systematic basis.

When is refusing contact after hours unreasonable?

It depends on the reason for the contact, its disruption, any pay for availability, the employee’s role, and their personal circumstances. A refusal is always unreasonable if the contact is required by law. An employee who is on call or working overtime can be required to respond.

Can the Fair Work Commission fine an employer under the right to disconnect?

No, not directly. The Fair Work Commission can make stop orders and resolve disputes, but it cannot order anyone to pay money. However, contravening a stop order is a civil remedy provision. An employee who suffers adverse action for disconnecting can also bring a general protections claim, which can lead to compensation.

Have there been any right to disconnect cases in Australia?

Very few. In November 2025 the Fair Work Commission said it had not considered any test cases. In decisions reported in September 2026, the South Australian Employment Tribunal dismissed two apprentices’ claims against a salon owner. Unwelcome after-hours messages did not breach the right, because ignoring them carried no consequence.

About the author

Graham Martin is Co-founder of Worknice, an Australian HRIS built for mid-to-large organisations. He has spent more than a decade working with Australian People and Culture teams on HR systems, compliance, and payroll integration.

Related reading

• Working on a public holiday: the other National Employment Standards right that turns on whether a refusal is reasonable.
• Refusing a work from home request: how remote work requests are assessed, and where contact expectations fit.
• Types of flexible working: the arrangements that make “working hours” harder to define.
• Penalty rates versus overtime: why pay for extra hours affects whether a refusal is reasonable.

Sources

1. Fair Work Ombudsman, “Right to disconnect”. Content last updated 18 June 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/right-to-disconnect
2. Fair Work Ombudsman, “New right to disconnect laws”. Published 12 April 2024, updated 26 August 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/legislation-changes/closing-loopholes/right-to-disconnect
3. Fair Work Commission, “Right to disconnect disputes”. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fwc.gov.au/workplace-disputes/other-workplace-disputes/right-disconnect-disputes
4. Fair Work Commission, “What is the right to disconnect”. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fwc.gov.au/workplace-disputes/other-workplace-disputes/right-disconnect-disputes/what-right-disconnect
5. Fair Work Commission, “Disputes about the right to disconnect”. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fwc.gov.au/workplace-disputes/other-workplace-disputes/right-disconnect-disputes/disputes-about-right
6. Fair Work Commission, “Statement: Variation of modern awards to include a right to disconnect term (AM2024/14)”, [2025] FWCFB 266, 21 November 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/am2024-14/2025fwcfb266.pdf
7. Federal Register of Legislation, “Fair Work Act 2009”. Compilation No. 73, compilation date 7 July 2026, sections 333M to 333W. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2009A00028/latest/text
8. Cooper Grace Ward, “First right to disconnect rulings clarify the bar for a contravention of the right to disconnect laws”, 10 September 2026, discussing Kalleske v Mcguire [2026] SAET 106 and Elliot v Mcguire [2026] SAET 107. Retrieved 11 October 2026: https://cgw.com.au/publications/first-right-to-disconnect-rulings-clarify-the-bar-for-a-contravention-of-the-right-to-disconnect-laws/