Must I answer work messages after hours in Australia?

What the right actually covers

In Australia, the right to disconnect gives employees in the national workplace system the ability to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work-related contact outside their working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable. This applies to contact from an employer or from a third party such as a client, supplier, or member of the public, through any channel including calls, emails, texts, social media, and messaging apps.

The right does not make out-of-hours contact unlawful. Instead, it focuses on whether your refusal to engage is reasonable. It has applied since 26 August 2024 for employees of non-small business employers (those with 15 or more employees at a particular time) and since 26 August 2025 for employees of small business employers (fewer than 15 employees at a particular time).

When a refusal is unreasonable

The law requires a range of factors to be considered when deciding whether your refusal is unreasonable. These include the reason for the contact, how it was made and how disruptive it is to you, how much you are compensated for being available or for working additional hours, your role and level of responsibility, and your personal circumstances such as family or caring responsibilities. Other matters may also be relevant.

A refusal is always unreasonable if the contact is required by law. For example, if a legal obligation requires you to respond to a particular message, you cannot rely on the right to disconnect to ignore it.

Separate situations: an emergency, a paid on-call period, and a routine request raise different questions. The same message may be reasonable to refuse for one employee but unreasonable for another, depending on their role, compensation, and personal circumstances.

Check your award or agreement first

All modern awards include a right to disconnect clause, and some awards contain specific rules about when you may be required to monitor, read or respond to contact outside working hours. For example, an award may require you to respond when you are paid an on-call allowance and the contact is to give notice of or recall you to work.

If you are covered by an enterprise agreement or another registered agreement, check its terms for any additional right to disconnect provisions. Your award or agreement may also define what counts as reasonable contact for your industry or workplace.

Agree a contact plan

Discuss out-of-hours contact with your employer and set expectations that suit your role and the workplace. Propose ordinary contact hours, an emergency channel, who covers each shift, and how any additional work will be recorded. Ask whether a message sent from another time zone requires an immediate response or can wait until your next work period.

Keep any agreed arrangement together with your roster. If your employer has a policy on out-of-hours contact, ask for a copy and make sure you understand it. A clear plan reduces the chance of a dispute later.

What to do if discussion fails

If a dispute about the right to disconnect cannot be resolved at the workplace level, the Fair Work Commission can deal with it. The Commission may make orders, including orders to stop an employee from refusing contact or to stop an employer from taking certain actions.

Before going to the Commission, gather the relevant evidence: the contact itself, your response (or lack of it), any policy or agreement provisions, and any disciplinary notice. Keep records of your working hours and any compensation you receive for availability or additional work. Remember that the right to refuse contact and the right to be paid for work actually done are separate questions; record both instead of assuming one answers the other.

Protections and how to use them

Your employer must not stop you from using your right to disconnect. The right is a workplace right under general protection laws in the Fair Work Act, which means adverse action against you for exercising it may be unlawful.

If you believe your employer has taken adverse action because you refused out-of-hours contact, you may have a separate claim under general protections. This is distinct from a dispute about whether your refusal was reasonable. Keep any evidence of the adverse action, such as a warning or change in duties, and seek advice from the Fair Work Commission or a workplace relations specialist if needed.

Hypothetical illustration: routine email versus paid emergency cover

Consider two employees in the same office. Priya is a project manager who receives a call at 9 pm from her supervisor about a client emergency. She is paid a substantial on-call allowance and her contract says she may be contacted for urgent matters. The urgency and availability payment are relevant to whether refusal is unreasonable; they do not replace consideration of the other circumstances.

In contrast, Marco is a junior analyst who receives a routine email at 9 pm asking him to prepare a report for the next morning. He is not paid for out-of-hours work and has no on-call duty. The routine nature and absence of on-call duties are relevant, but the actual circumstances still need assessment.

The key question is not whether the contact happened, but whether each employee's refusal was reasonable given their compensation, role, and the nature of the contact. Would the same call be reasonable to refuse for Marco?

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