Victorian businesses have embraced flexible work.  

Most employers already offer hybrid arrangements because they understand that flexibility helps attract and retain talent while supporting employee wellbeing and productivity. Recent business surveys by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry show that around three-quarters of Victorian businesses already provide flexible work arrangements, with many operating hybrid models that include minimum office attendance requirements. 

The system is currently working.  

Instead of supporting practical conversations between employers and employees, this legislation introduces a new layer of regulation and positions VCAT as the ultimate arbiter of workplace arrangements. 

Rather than providing certainty, these changes create confusion, delay and additional red tape. 

Victoria has long been recognised as a leader in flexible work practices. Employers have consistently demonstrated they are willing to accommodate work from home arrangements where they make operational sense and meet the needs of both the business and its employees. 

At a time when businesses are grappling with increased freight costs, higher energy prices, insurance pressures and ongoing uncertainty flowing from global events, this is the wrong priority. 

Many businesses are already absorbing significant cost increases across their supply chains while working hard to protect jobs, maintain investment and keep prices down for consumers. 

They should be spending their time growing their businesses, creating jobs and supporting the Victorian economy - not seeking legal advice or preparing for potential disputes over workplace arrangements. 

Victoria is already experiencing sluggish productivity growth and weakening business confidence. The state’s economic competitiveness will not improve by adding more regulation or creating additional compliance obligations for employers who are already doing the right thing. 

Business supports genuine workplace flexibility. 

What we do not support is replacing collaborative workplace conversations with legal processes, uncertainty and unnecessary bureaucracy. 

There was no problem to fix. 

The VCEA calls on the Victorian Government to withdraw this Bill from Parliament and commit to working with employer groups and the business community on reforms that genuinely improve economic conditions, restore business confidence and strengthen Victoria’s competitiveness. 

Victorian businesses need certainty, stability and policies that encourage investment - not legislation that creates more confusion, more cost and more complexity at precisely the time businesses need the confidence to grow.

This is a joint statement from the Victorian Congress of Employer Associations of which Housing Industry Association is a member.