Australia: Employment and HR

When workers suffer repeated injuries to the same body part over years of employment, a critical question emerges: can permanent impairments from separate incidents be combined if they result in identical pathology?

Victoria's proposed Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 seeks to establish a statutory right for eligible employees to work from home two days per week, with employers required to cover reasonable costs and equipment. The legislation outlines specific exemptions, reasonableness factors for employer refusals, and a dispute resolution process through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

The Australian Government released the 2026 Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy on 3 June 2026, setting parameters for enterprise bargaining across the Commonwealth public sector including APS and Non-APS agencies.