Victoria’s proposed WFH mandates making companies unhappy

Numerous companies, including manufacturing firm Robert Bosch, are moving their headquarters out of Victoria, in an attempt to escape WFH laws set to come into effect in 2026.

Manufacturer Robert Bosch may end its Victoria-based internship program after Victoria’s government proposed a two-day work-from-home (WFH) mandate.

Gavin Smith, president at Robert Bosch Oceania, said in a recent LinkedIn post: “I’m saddened today to say that our 20-year collaboration with the tertiary institutions to take interns into our Victorian business may be coming to an end.”

He stated that this may be one of the “unintended consequences” of the Victorian government’s statewide WFH mandate proposal. Smith told The Australian Financial Review that it is “very hard to see how, under the proposed Victoria’s WFH legislation, such roles would be possible in 2027”.

In an August statement, Paul Guerra, chief executive at Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said this proposal could cause businesses to move interstate, resulting in job losses. Guerra stressed that although WFH “works well in some contexts”, for businesses to be productive and contribute well to the economics of the country, businesses must have the freedom to “operate in a way that best suits their model”.

Tim Piper, Victorian head at Australian Industry Group, also in an August statement, called the Victorian government’s two-day WFH proposal “little more than pure political theatre” and that flexibility must be driven by the varying needs of individual businesses, as opposed to legislation. Additionally, Piper echoed Guerra’s statements and pointed out that businesses may be forced to relocate interstate, and potentially overseas, if the mandate passes.

In September, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) called on Victoria’s government to abandon its proposal. In its report, Regulation Rumble 2024, BCA found that Victoria was the hardest place to do business in Australia due to higher payroll tax and complex licensing regimes.

Bran Black, chief executive at BCA, said: “All this mandate will do is add more red tape and make it less likely that businesses will choose to invest in Victoria, and BCA analysis shows Victoria is already the most challenging place to do business in Australia.”

This news follows the Greens’ recently proposed Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025, which proposes a two-day WFH mandate across the country.