Public servants will have right to disconnect repealed under Coalition government

Federal public servants will likely be the first to have their right to disconnect taken away if the Coalition wins this year’s federal election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton last week pledged to order public servants to work in the office, as he targets the federal bureaucracy and vows to cut 36,000 jobs if he wins government.

Opposition public service spokesperson Jane Hume.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The public service will likely be the first to experience a repeal of “right to disconnect” laws, with Coalition public service spokeswoman Jane Hume confirming the sector would be subject to the changes under a Liberal-National government.

“We have already said that we will seek to repeal Labor’s right-to-disconnect laws, which were rushed and only add complexity and confusion. Australian Public Service employees will be subject to the same laws as the rest of Australia,” Hume told this masthead.

The right to disconnect, introduced in August 2024, is a workplace condition protecting employees who choose to ignore unreasonable attempts by their bosses to contact them after hours.

The Coalition’s proposed changes to the public service and workplace laws are set to become a key battleground during the coming federal election campaign, as the party argues that declining productivity is linked to federal Labor’s prioritising of workers’ rights and a bigger bureaucracy.

In July last year, the Australian Public Service Commission released a guidance document that called for government agencies to update position descriptions and job advertisements and be model employers when implementing the right to disconnect.

As the government sets the direction of the public service, Workplace Minister Murray Watt said a Coalition government would quickly scrap government workers’ right to disconnect.

“We know Peter Dutton is a hater, but the two things he hates the most are workers’ rights and public servants. That’s why he wants to cut wages, scrap important conditions for workers and sack 36,000 frontline public servants,” Watt said.

“The right to disconnect is designed to end unpaid overtime, help people regain their life outside of work, and spend more quality time with their family and friends. Whether you work in the public or private sector, Peter Dutton wants you to work longer for less.”

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Dutton’s vow to make public servants work in the office, rather than from home, as Trumpist policy. The Coalition has faced a backlash for introducing a pledge that some argue disproportionately affects working mothers who require more flexibility.

Commonwealth Public Service Union secretary Melissa Donnelly pledged on Tuesday to take the Coalition to the industrial tribunal if the party forced workers to be in the office, while also arguing that repealing the right to disconnect would be another decision that hurts women in the workforce.

A 2024-25 report on what women want in the public sector, released by the union this month, found the number of women being contacted after hours had declined from 46 per cent in 2021 to 40 per cent in the six months since the introduction of the right to disconnect.

“Everyone deserves a break from the work – whether you work in the public or private sector,” Donnelly said. “This is a pretty simple proposition, so it’s astonishing to see the opposition wanting to wind back the right to disconnect.”

On Saturday, Albanese repeated his support of the public service, hailing workers from the National Emergency Management Agency who have been a part of the emergency response to ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

“They’ve been here on a 24-hour basis, working their guts out in the interests of Australians, our public servants do just that. They serve the public. They deserve respect,” he said.

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