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For small business employers and their employees, Australia’s new Right to Disconnect Laws became effective on August 26, 2025. These laws will empower employees to switch off from work outside of their regular hours, enabling them to achieve a better work-life balance. Having the right to disconnect means employees can refuse to answer calls, emails, texts, and other messages from their employer or third parties—like clients, customers and suppliers —unless the request is unreasonable.
Watch the below video from Fair Work for an indepth overview of the Right to Disconnect Laws for Small Businesses:
Crafting a Fair Policy
The Right to Disconnect laws require every business to review how team members communicate with each other and more specifically, when. It is best practice once this review is completed, to create a clear and effective Right to Disconnect policy that all team members will follow. Since the expectations for after-hours contact can vary greatly depending on employees’ positions, it is crucial to have open conversations and document the agreed-upon standards. The policy should define what reasonable and “unreasonable” contact means for a specific workplace and individual roles.
Regularly reviewing and updating this policy will help ensure it continues to support both the business’s needs and the well-being of its employees.
As a bonus for those who are reading this post, I have created a Right to Disconnect policy template. Download it for free below.
The following video from Fair Work, provides information about having discussions with employees about these new laws. These “discussions” will assist in crafting a policy that best suits the needs of the employees, and will help them understand their rights and those of the business.
For more information about the Right to Disconnect and to view examples, visit this Fair Work webpage.
