Can Your Boss Force You to Drive In?

Yes, your boss can generally direct you to come into the workplace. That's the reality. Under Australian employment law, your employer has the right to determine where you perform your work — and "petrol is expensive" doesn't override that.

But.

You have the legal right to request flexible working arrangements under section 65 of the Fair Work Act. If you're an eligible employee (parent, carer, over 55, have a disability, or experiencing domestic violence), your employer must respond within 21 days and can only refuse on reasonable business grounds.

What counts as "reasonable business grounds" to refuse? Things like:

• The arrangement would be too costly
• It would result in a significant loss of productivity
• It's impractical to change other employees' arrangements to accommodate yours
• The nature of the role genuinely requires on-site presence

"Because I said so" is not a reasonable business ground. Neither is "we've always done it this way" or "I don't trust people who work from home." If your employer refuses without genuine reasons, you can take it to the Fair Work Commission.

Right now, Australia is at Stage 2 of the National Fuel Security Plan — "Keeping Australia Moving." That means the government is actively managing fuel supply but hasn't imposed restrictions on consumers yet.

Here's what the stages look like:

• Stage 1 — Monitoring: Government watches supply levels. No public intervention.
• Stage 2 — Keeping Australia Moving (CURRENT): Strategic reserves released, fuel quality standards relaxed, fuel excise cut. Government actively managing supply.
• Stage 3 — Voluntary Restrictions: Public asked to reduce fuel use. Employers strongly encouraged to enable WFH. Non-essential travel discouraged.
• Stage 4 — Mandatory Rationing: Fuel allocated by priority. Essential services first. Potential restrictions on private vehicle use.

If we hit Stage 3, the dynamic shifts massively. The government would be publicly asking employers to facilitate WFH. Any employer refusing flexible work requests at that point would be swimming against a very strong current — and would likely face enormous public and regulatory pressure.

At Stage 4, it's a whole new world. If fuel is rationed, your employer literally cannot force you to drive in if you don't have fuel. Stand-down provisions (s.524 Fair Work Act) could come into play for workers who can't get to work through no fault of their own or their employer's.

Don't just send a Slack message saying "reckon I'll WFH for a bit." Do this properly and your employer has to take it seriously.

Step 1: Check your eligibility. Are you a parent/carer, over 55, have a disability, or experiencing domestic violence? If yes, you qualify for a formal s.65 request. If not, you can still ask informally — but the formal route carries more legal weight.

Step 2: Put it in writing. Email your manager and HR (if you have one). State clearly that you are making a request under section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Step 3: Be specific. Don't say "I want to work from home sometimes." Say: "I request to work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays, effective from [date], with all other days attended in the office."

Step 4: Explain why. Reference the fuel crisis directly. Calculate your weekly fuel costs — e.g., "My round-trip commute of 60km costs approximately $32/week in fuel at current prices of $2.55/L, representing a 48% increase from six months ago."

Step 5: Show you've thought about it. Explain how you'll maintain communication, attend key meetings, and deliver your work. Remove every excuse your employer might use.

Step 6: Set the clock. Once you submit a formal s.65 request, your employer has 21 days to respond in writing. If they don't respond, that's a breach of the Fair Work Act.

Need a template? Use our flexible work request template — it's got the right legal references built in.

Casuals get a rougher deal here, but you're not completely without rights.

Under the Fair Work Act, casual employees can request flexible working arrangements after 12 months of regular and systematic employment. That means if you've been working a consistent pattern of shifts for at least a year, you can make a formal request — same as permanent staff.

The catch? Your employer has broader grounds to refuse a casual employee's request. They can also point to the nature of casual work as inherently flexible (which, let's be honest, usually only works in the employer's favour).

If you've been working casual for over 12 months on regular shifts, you might also be eligible to convert to permanent employment. Under the casual conversion provisions in the Fair Work Act, your employer must offer you permanent employment if you've worked regular hours for 12 months — or you can request it yourself. Being permanent gives you stronger grounds for flexible work requests.

Worth noting: if fuel rationing hits and your shifts get cut, casuals have no entitlement to stand-down pay. You just... don't get shifts. Another reason to look into conversion if you're eligible.

Before you burn through your savings on petrol, check what the states are doing. Several governments are rolling out transport incentives during the crisis:

• NSW: The $2.50 daily Opal cap is still in place, meaning unlimited travel for the price of roughly one litre of petrol
• Victoria: Myki fare caps remain at $10.60/day ($4.60 concession). Some calls for temporary free public transport but nothing announced yet
• Queensland: 50-cent fares scheme has been extended through the fuel crisis period
• WA: SmartRider daily cap at $11.40. Free CAT bus services in Perth CBD

If you're anywhere near a train line or bus route, do the maths. A daily PT fare of $5-10 versus a $25+ daily fuel cost for a 60km round trip is a no-brainer. Yeah, it takes longer. But you can at least read, sleep, or doom-scroll the fuel price news on the train instead of white-knuckling it in traffic.

Talk to your employer about adjusting your hours to fit public transport schedules — this can be part of your flexible work request.