Clerks Award working from home clause: what’s actually in the draft

The Fair Work Commission has released its long-awaited decision on a working from home clause for the Clerks Award. If you skimmed the headline, you’d think clerical staff just got a new right to work from home. They didn’t. What actually landed is more interesting, and more useful, than that.

One thing first: this is a draft determination, not the final wording. Submissions on drafting and technical issues close 5pm AEST Thursday 17 September 2026. But the Commission’s reasoning is settled, so this is worth understanding now.

What’s actually changing in the Clerks Award?

A new clause is being inserted, sitting right after the existing individual flexibility clause. It lets an employee ask their employer for a working from home arrangement, and lets the employer agree to it in writing. That’s it. No automatic entitlement, no presumption in favour of approval, no right to have a refusal arbitrated.

Why didn’t employees get a stronger right to request?

There was a serious push for a right modelled on the NES flexible work request scheme: presumption of approval, a fixed list of acceptable refusal reasons, and a path to arbitration if knocked back.

The Commission said no, and the evidence is why. Working from home is already the norm in clerical roles, not the exception. Most requests get approved in full or in part. Where they’re refused, the reasons employers gave looked like genuine business grounds, not knock-backs for the sake of it. And most employers and employees told the Commission’s own survey they didn’t think the award needed changing at all. Against that evidence, a heavier regulatory model didn’t stack up.

Why didn’t employers get a wider spread of hours?

Employer groups pushed hard for an extended spread of ordinary hours for anyone working from home, partly to head off accidental overtime liability when staff log on early or work late.

The Commission’s answer here comes down to a law change from last year that locks in existing penalty and overtime entitlements. Widening the ordinary hours window would have quietly wiped out overtime pay for hours currently outside that window. The Commission found that was very likely off limits, so this didn’t make it into the clause.

What can employers and employees actually agree to?

Once a working from home arrangement is agreed in writing, the clause lets both sides depart from a few specific things:

• the requirement to work ordinary hours continuously
• the employer’s usual discretion over when those hours are worked
• the timing of rest breaks and meal breaks

It also plugs into flexibility the award already allows, like shifting the spread of hours, making up time, and taking time off in lieu of overtime, so all of it can sit inside one written arrangement instead of several separate agreements.

What hasn’t changed?

No changes to the first aid allowance, the uniform laundering allowance, or the overtime meal allowance. No change to Sunday minimum payments. Right to disconnect is unaffected.

What should employers do now?

Don’t wait for the final wording to get organised.

• Look at what your working from home arrangements actually involve right now, particularly around continuous hours and break timing, and be honest about where they don’t match the current award
• Start putting arrangements in writing, even informally, so you’re ready to formalise once the clause is finalised
• Keep records. The Commission has made clear that written agreements need to be kept as time and wages records
• Watch for the final determination rather than acting on the draft wording as gospel

FAQs

Is the Clerks Award working from home clause final?

No. It’s a draft determination. Submissions on drafting and technical issues close 5pm AEST Thursday 17 September 2026.

Does the new clause give clerical employees an automatic right to work from home?

No. It gives them a right to ask and a formal way for the employer to agree, but there’s no presumption of approval and no right to have a refusal arbitrated.

Will employers get a wider spread of hours for staff working from home?

No. The Commission found this was very likely blocked by 2025 legislation protecting existing penalty and overtime entitlements.

What can employers and employees agree to under the new clause?

Departures from the requirement to work hours continuously, the employer’s discretion over rostering, and the timing of rest and meal breaks, once a written working from home arrangement is in place.