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. Casuals get the right too, but only when not engaged or rostered.

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 Fair Work Commission weighs four factors under s333M(3): (a) the reason for the contact (genuine emergency vs trivial), (b) whether you're paid for being available (on-call pay, availability allowance), (c) your role and responsibility (executive/medical on-call vs frontline worker), (d) your personal circumstances (family responsibilities, health). One factor isn't decisive — the FWC weighs all four.

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 contact continues despite reasonable refusal, lodge an application for a Stop Order with the Fair Work Commission under s333T. The FWC can order the employer to stop contacting you outside hours. 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, from 26 August 2024 — but only when the casual is not currently engaged or rostered for a shift. A casual who has agreed to work tomorrow can reasonably be contacted about that shift today. A casual who hasn't worked for two weeks and has no upcoming shift cannot be reasonably contacted out of hours 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)(b) — 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?

Brand-new 2024 law (FW Act s333M, in effect 26 August 2024). Six questions tied to the four FWC reasonableness factors. Tells you if your boss's out-of-hours contact breached the right — and what to do.

Last verified: 2 August 2026

Question 1 of 6

Was the contact for a genuine emergency or business-critical issue?

Genuine emergency (safety incident, system outage, customer crisis) = reasonable to contact. 'Quick question about Monday's report' at 9pm = not.

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Right to Disconnect — Was the Contact Reasonable?

Was the contact for a genuine emergency or business-critical issue?

Is the figure right for you?

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