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“[Working from home] certainly works well in some contexts, but that should be determined by the employer in consultation with the employee,” he said.

Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari was supportive of the move, noting that 40 per cent of workers were already doing some variation of hybrid work, according to the Grattan Institute.

“Working from home is probably the greatest improvement to work-life balance since we won the weekend … so for [Labor] to enshrine it, it’s a big deal,” he said.

“There’s some mistrust out there that people will be doing the wrong things [while working from home].

“But the truth is, it just makes people’s lives easier. That’s especially so for women – women’s participation in the workforce has gone up a whole notch.”

Consultation on the laws will be led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. It will consider the type and size of businesses covered by the scheme, who can reasonably do their job from home, and must also arrive at an acceptable definition of what constitutes remote working.

Daniel Victory, principal lawyer in employment and industrial law at Maurice Blackburn, called the topic of working from home a “barbecue stopper” – it was the No.1 employment issue people wanted to talk about.

He said it would likely be easier for the government to enshrine hybrid work in law for those in the public sector under current workplace laws.

“Trying to enshrine a right [to work from home] for the private sector might be open to challenge, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the legislation is and how it’s framed,” he said.

“Even if an employer could challenge it, I don’t know why they would challenge a right like this if it’s reasonable … any employer who doesn’t want to allow work from home, it sort of like feels like they want to go back to the dinosaur ages.”

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Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece told Nine’s Today program it was clear that hybrid work arrangements were not going away but it was important not to lose “collaboration and new ideas” that came with being physically present in the workplace.

“Family-friendly, flexible workplaces should absolutely be here to stay,” he said. “But I also know that Melbourne’s at its best when it’s full of people, and I think workplaces are at their best when they’re full of people.”

The government expects to pass the laws next year, setting the stage for the 2026 state poll as the first major policy announcement to be debated in an election year.

After widespread outcry earlier this year, former federal opposition leader Peter Dutton backflipped mid-campaign on his election promise to end flexible work rules for public servants in Canberra.

State Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the Victorian Liberals recognised that hybrid work arrangements had become a “valuable” option for workers.

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“We support measures that help Victorians enjoy a better work-life balance, and will review any legislation closely, to ensure it supports flexibility, productivity, and personal choice,” he said.

Hilakari warned the Liberal Party should be “very cautious” about opposing any legislation which enshrined working from home in law. “They saw what happened at the last federal election … If the Victorian Liberal Party goes against it, well, the trade union movement will be running on this all the way to the ballot box.”

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