CLS ANU Rejects the Allan Government’s Constitutionally Dubious and Illiberal Work-from-Home Mandate  

The ANU Classical Liberal Society (CLS ANU) opposes the Victorian Government’s proposal to legislate a minimum of two days’ work from home per week.

This policy represents a blatant case of government overreach—a top-down mandate that violates the freedom of individuals and businesses to negotiate the terms of employment that best suit their circumstances. Classical liberalism stands firmly against such coercive interference. Employment contracts should be shaped by consent, not compulsion.

The proposal is not just economically damaging—it is also constitutionally unsound. Victoria, like other states, referred its powers over private-sector industrial relations to the Commonwealth decades ago. The Fair Work Act governs this space, explicitly enabling flexible work requests while deliberately avoiding a mandated work-from-home minimum.

Any attempt by a state government to override that federal framework is likely to be invalid under section 109 of the Constitution, which voids inconsistent state laws. The Fair Work Act further clarifies that it overrides any state laws regulating employment conditions.

Beyond the legal flaws, this policy undermines the spontaneous order of the market, in which businesses and workers discover mutually beneficial arrangements through decentralised decision-making. It threatens to stifle innovation in work design and entrench a post-COVID paternalism that treats adults like dependents.

We believe in a free society—one where individuals are trusted to make their own choices, and where the role of government is not to control private agreements, but to protect the conditions in which they can freely occur. The Allan Government’s proposal is antithetical to that vision.

We urge it to abandon this deeply illiberal experiment.