Work From Home Agreement Template: What to Include and Your Rights in Australia

A work from home agreement is a short written document, signed by the employer and the employee, that records where the employee works, which days and hours, what equipment is supplied, the safety and data-security rules, and how the arrangement can be changed or ended. In Australia, working from home is something an employer and employee can agree, and some employees have a formal right to ask for it. To see what applies to you, check what you agreed and any rules in your contract, award, enterprise agreement and workplace policies.

Claim Done drafts a signable remote work agreement from your answers for a flat A$49. You download it straight away and both sides sign it themselves.

Can my employer make me return to the office?

The Fair Work Ombudsman says working from home arrangements can be agreed between an employer and employee, and that employers offering it should check any rules in their enterprise agreement, award, employment contract and workplace policies. Check those documents, and any written arrangement you already have.

That is the main reason to put it in writing. If your agreement sets a notice period to review or end the arrangement, both sides know what a change looks like.

Who has a right to ask to work from home

Under the National Employment Standards, working from home is one kind of flexible working arrangement. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s flexible working page, full-time and part-time employees with at least 12 months with the same employer can make a request if they:

• are the parent of, or care for, a child who is school aged or younger
• are a carer under the Carer Recognition Act 2010
• are a person with disability
• are 55 or older
• are pregnant
• are experiencing family and domestic violence, or care for or support an immediate family or household member who is.

Casuals can also ask if they meet a criterion, have worked regularly and systematically for the employer for at least 12 months, and reasonably expect that to continue.

The request must be in writing, say what change you want and explain why. The employer must respond in writing within 21 days. It can refuse only on reasonable business grounds, after discussing the request with you, genuinely trying to agree on an alternative and considering the consequences of refusing. If the two of you settle on something different from what you asked for, the employer must confirm the agreed changes in writing within 21 days of your request.

The Fair Work Commission says an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because they made the request. If the employer refuses or does not answer within 21 days, either side can apply to the Commission (Form F10C). The Commission usually tries conciliation or mediation first.

Which rules might apply to you

Clerks Award. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Clerks Award page says this right to request is a protected workplace right. The request must be in writing and set out the specific days, or the number, proportion or pattern of days. An agreed arrangement must be in writing and set out the days, the location, any award terms that have been changed, any facilitative agreement, the start date, and how it can be varied or ended. The employer must keep a copy as a time and wages record and give the employee a copy.

Victoria. The Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office reports that a work from home Bill was introduced on 16 June 2026. In a 10 September 2026 statement, the Victorian Government announced amendments under which the law would commence on 1 July 2027 (1 January 2028 for businesses with fewer than 15 staff) and would only apply to employees who live in Victoria. As at November 2026, check its current status with the Victorian Government before relying on it. The Fair Work Ombudsman also says a better State or Territory entitlement to flexible work continues to apply.

What a work from home agreement should cover

• The employer, the employee and the role.
• Where the work is done, and any split between home and the office.
• The working days and hours, and any core hours when the employee must be contactable.
• The equipment supplied and who maintains it.
• Any expenses or allowance the employer covers.
• Work health and safety at home.
• Data security and confidentiality.
• That pay, leave and other employment terms are unchanged.
• Whether it is ongoing, a trial or for a fixed period, and the notice to review, vary or end it.

Claim Done’s agreement covers each point, using only your answers, and sits alongside the employment contract. It does not ask about changed award terms or a facilitative agreement, so if you are under the Clerks Award and you have agreed either, record them in writing as well. If the arrangement starts on a date other than the date of signing, record the start date too.

How the agreement is structured

1. Date and parties: the employer, the employee and the role.
2. Purpose: it sits alongside the employment contract.
3. Location: home or other place, and any office days.
4. Days, hours and core availability.
5. Equipment: what is supplied and who looks after it.
6. Expenses: only if any are covered.
7. Work health and safety: the employer’s duty continues; the employee keeps a safe workspace and reports hazards.
8. Data security and confidentiality.
9. Pay, leave and other terms unchanged.
10. Review, variation and ending: ongoing, trial or fixed, and the notice. Ending it does not end the job.
11. No reduction of entitlements under the contract, an award or agreement, or the National Employment Standards.
12. General terms, then a dated signing block for each side.

Safety when working from home

Safe Work Australia says work health and safety laws apply at home just as they do in an office, and the business must ensure workers’ health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. Its page on duties says this applies even if the worker asked to work from home, and that the business must consult workers on safety issues. Workers must take reasonable care for their own safety and follow reasonable safety instructions and policies.

Common home hazards listed on its managing risks page include poor workstation set-up, trip hazards and fatigue from being “always on”. Safe Work Australia is not a regulator, so for help contact your State or Territory work health and safety authority.

Expenses, allowances and tax

If the agreement includes an allowance, the ATO says the employee must include it as income in their tax return. The employee cannot claim a deduction for items the employer provides, such as a laptop, or for costs the employer reimburses. To use the ATO’s fixed rate method (70 cents per work hour for 2025-26, as at November 2026), you need a record of the hours worked from home.

Signing it and keeping copies

Both sides sign and date it and each keeps a signed copy, stored with the employment contract. If the arrangement changes, put the change in writing and have both sides sign again.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving it as a verbal arrangement.
• Writing an agreement that cuts pay or leave. Flexibility must not take away minimum entitlements.
• Forgetting the notice to review or end the arrangement.
• Treating the home as outside the safety rules.
• Under the Clerks Award, leaving out the start date or any changed award terms.

If you have agreed to work from home and want it on paper, Claim Done drafts a work from home agreement for both of you to sign, for a flat A$49.