What is the right to disconnect in Australia?

Section 333M of the Fair Work Act 2009 gives an employee the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact (or attempted contact) from the employer outside the employee's working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. The right took effect 26 August 2024 for large employers and 26 August 2025 for small businesses. It applies to all employees, including casuals. Refusing contact that a law requires is unreasonable (s333M(4)).

Can my boss contact me outside work hours in Australia?

They can contact you, but you have the right to refuse to read or respond — unless that refusal would be unreasonable. The matters weighed under s333M(3) are: (a) the reason for the contact (genuine emergency vs trivial), (b) how the contact is made and how disruptive it is, (c) whether you're compensated for being available or for extra hours (on-call pay, availability allowance), (d) your role and level of responsibility (executive/medical on-call vs frontline worker), and (e) your personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities. One factor isn't decisive — they are weighed together.

What can I do if my boss keeps contacting me after hours?

Step 1: Raise it with the employer in writing. Most disputes resolve once expectations are made explicit. Step 2: If you can't resolve it, apply to the Fair Work Commission to deal with the dispute (s333N). The FWC can make orders (s333P) — for example, that the employer stop unreasonable contact or stop taking action against you for refusing. Breaching an FWC order carries civil penalties. Step 3: If you've been disciplined, dismissed, or had hours cut because you exercised the right, that's adverse action — a general protections claim under s340 with reverse onus on the employer.

Does the right to disconnect apply to casuals?

Yes. The right applies to all employees, casuals included (from 26 August 2024, or 26 August 2025 for small business employers). The same reasonableness test applies: short contact about a shift you've agreed to work tomorrow is more likely to be reasonable than repeated contact about future availability.

Does the right to disconnect apply if I'm on-call?

If you're being paid an on-call allowance or availability allowance to be reachable, then s333M(3)(c) — compensation for availability — weighs heavily in favour of the employer. Refusing to respond when you're being paid to be available would generally be unreasonable. If you're NOT being paid for availability but are expected to be reachable, that gap itself is worth raising — either get on-call pay formalised, or accept the right to disconnect applies.

Right to Disconnect — Was the Contact Reasonable?

2024 law (FW Act s333M, in effect 26 August 2024; small business 26 August 2025). Eight questions tied to the s333M(3) reasonableness matters. Tells you whether refusing your boss's out-of-hours contact is likely to be protected — and what to do.

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Right to Disconnect — Was the Contact Reasonable?

Was the contact required by a law (for example a safety, regulatory or reporting obligation)?

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