What Is the Right to Disconnect?
What is the right to disconnect? It is your right as an employee to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from your employer, or a third party, outside your working hours, unless refusing is unreasonable. It applies from 26 August 2024 for non-small business employers and from 26 August 2025 for small business employers with fewer than 15 employees.
This guide explains how the right works, what counts as unreasonable, and what both employers and workers should do.
What is the right to disconnect: definition and why it matters
The right protects time away from work, particularly for salaried and shift workers who are easy to reach by phone. The table sets out the key terms.
| Term | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Right to disconnect | The right to ignore work contact outside working hours, unless refusing is unreasonable | Protects rest, family time and mental health |
| Contact | A call, text, email or message from your employer or a third party such as a client | Covers the ways work reaches you at home |
| Outside working hours | Time you are not paid to work, including your days off and annual leave | Sets the window in which you can switch off |
| Unreasonable refusal | A refusal that the circumstances do not justify, such as an urgent safety call you are paid to be available for | The right is not absolute |
| Adverse action | Punishing someone for using a workplace right, such as cutting shifts for refusing a call | Employers cannot take it because you disconnected |
A site supervisor who texts at 9 pm about tomorrow's roster is the everyday case this right is meant to deal with.
The right to disconnect law: who it covers and when
The right sits in the Fair Work Act and applies across the national system. The start date depends on the size of your employer.
| Employer | Start date | Key check |
|---|---|---|
| Employer with 15 or more employees | 26 August 2024 | Rights already apply to you |
| Small business with fewer than 15 employees | 26 August 2025 | Rights now apply, so update your policies |
| Full-time and part-time employees | Covered when the employer's date has passed | Check your contract and award for extra terms |
| Casual employees | Covered for time outside the hours they are rostered or agreed to work | Pay is only for hours worked |
| NSW state public sector employees | Covered by state-system rules instead of this law | Check with your agency or union |
Awards and enterprise agreements may add their own terms about contact outside hours, so read yours as well.
What is the right to disconnect when contact is reasonable
You cannot refuse every call. The law looks at the whole picture and weighs these factors when a dispute comes up.
- The reason for the contact, such as a real emergency, a safety issue or a routine question that could wait until the next shift.
- How the contact was made and how disruptive it was, including whether it interrupted rest, family time or sleep.
- Whether you are paid extra to be available, for example through an on-call allowance or a salary that covers extra hours.
- The nature of your role and your level of responsibility, since a manager may face more reasonable contact than a casual.
- Your personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities that make out-of-hours contact harder.
- Whether the employer or the third party asked politely and respected a refusal, rather than pressing you to respond.
Right to disconnect for employers
You still manage the business, so you can contact staff when you must. These steps keep you on the right side of the law.
- Write a short policy on contact outside hours, and tell staff which situations count as urgent, such as a site safety incident.
- Roster work and on-call duty clearly, and pay allowances or overtime where the award or agreement requires them.
- Avoid sending routine messages after hours, and use scheduled sends so non-urgent texts arrive during the next working day.
- Do not punish, cut shifts or mark down a worker who politely declines a non-urgent call after hours.
- Remind supervisors and managers that the right also covers contact from clients and other third parties.
- Keep records of any after-hours request, because time and wage records must be kept for 7 years.
A Friday timesheet chase after the supervisor has gone home is a common cause of after-hours texts, so set a cut-off time instead.
The right to disconnect for workers: what to do
You can use the right calmly and without conflict. Follow these steps if contact outside hours is becoming a pattern.
- Check your contract, award or agreement to see whether you are paid to be on call or reachable outside your hours.
- Reply politely in your next working hours and say you will deal with non-urgent matters then.
- Raise the issue with your manager or HR, in writing if you can, and keep a record of dates and times of contact.
- If you are pressured or lose shifts after refusing, you may have been subject to adverse action, so seek advice.
- Contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94 for free help, or apply to the Fair Work Commission if the dispute continues.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the right means you can ignore every message, including an urgent safety call you are paid to answer.
- Treating a salary as consent to unlimited contact, when the law still asks whether the refusal is unreasonable.
- Using group chats for rosters, which sends messages to everyone late at night and invites replies outside hours.
- Penalising a worker for declining a non-urgent call, which risks an adverse action claim.
- Forgetting that contact from clients and other third parties is covered, not only contact from the employer.
- Waiting too long to raise a problem, which makes it harder to show a pattern of out-of-hours contact.
Right to disconnect FAQ
What is the right to disconnect in Australia?
It is the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside your working hours, unless refusing is unreasonable. It started on 26 August 2024 for larger employers and 26 August 2025 for small businesses. Your employer cannot take action against you only for using it.
Can my boss contact me on my day off?
Yes, they can try, but you can decline unless refusing is unreasonable. An urgent safety issue, or a role where you are paid to be on call, may make a refusal unreasonable. A routine question that can wait until you are next at work does not.
Does the right to disconnect apply to casual workers?
Yes. Casual employees are covered for time outside the hours they are rostered or agreed to work. Because casuals are paid only for hours worked, you are not obliged to respond to messages in unpaid time. If you are repeatedly pressured, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
What happens if my employer ignores the right to disconnect?
Raise it in writing first. If that fails, you can contact the Fair Work Ombudsman, and the Fair Work Commission can deal with a dispute about whether a refusal was reasonable. It may issue orders to stop the conduct. Do not resign or take action without getting advice.
Next steps
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ATO or an employment lawyer for your situation. For other leave and time-off rules, read our guide to annual leave in Australia.
If you are a host employer who wants workers rostered clearly and managed fairly, we can help. Visit our host employer labour hire page to talk to us.