WORK from home (WFH) in Victoria didn’t arrive by careful planning or thoughtful workplace reform. It was born in crisis, rolled out under Dan Andrews during the long COVID lockdowns when the CBD became a ghost town and kitchen tables were suddenly national infrastructure.
What started as an emergency measure quickly became a cultural shift and now, under Premier Jacinta Allan, it’s being locked in by law as if it were a flawless success story.
The timeline says it all. Back in 2020–2021, Dan Andrews’ government mandates WFH for all but essential workers during the world’s longest lockdowns. Office towers stand empty, and the CBD economy withers.
This lasted until 2022 saw restrictions lift, but many workers and employers keep WFH arrangements because they’re convenient, even as city traders beg for weekday crowds to return.
Then in 2023 the Andrews Government quietly accepts the “new normal,” offering little in the way of CBD revival strategies.
2024–2025 saw Jacinta Allan take over and double down, moving to legislate WFH as a right for at least two days a week, making temporary pandemic habits permanent policy.
The Allan Government’s latest announcement isn’t about if WFH should be a right, that’s already decided. Instead, they’re “consulting” on how to enshrine it in legislation, as if making remote work a legal entitlement will somehow be a neat fix for all sectors.
This is not leadership; it’s a continuation of Dan Andrews’ habit of imposing blanket rules that don’t account for nuance, then expecting everyone to adapt around them.
The truth is, WFH has not been a universal triumph. Productivity in some industries has slipped. Collaboration has withered as “teamwork” becomes a string of glitchy video calls.
Training young staff is harder when the only interaction is a delayed email. And while families save on commuting costs, CBD businesses, cafés, bars, lunch spots and retail have been gutted by the disappearance of weekday crowds. Entire streets in Melbourne’s city centre now feel like it’s Sunday afternoon… every day.
Yet the government is charging ahead, talking up the “economic benefits” of remote work while ignoring the boarded-up shopfronts that tell a very different story. It’s a vision of economic health measured not by bustling high streets, but by survey responses on Engage Victoria.
If Jacinta Allan and her Minister for Industrial Relations, Jaclyn Symes, were serious about balancing the needs of workers and the survival of the above mentioned businesses, they would leave WFH arrangements where they belong, in the hands of employers and employees, negotiated according to the realities of each job. Mandating it by law risks baking in the flaws we’ve already seen, and ensuring the mistakes made under Dan Andrews remain embedded in Victoria’s economy for years to come.
Yes, remote work has benefits. But it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and it shouldn’t be treated like one. The government should step back from the legislative sledgehammer and trust workplaces to find the right balance, without condemning the city to permanent half-capacity and calling it progress.
But then, that’s just my opinion.
