Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, flexible work arrangements have continued to be in high demand with many employers accommodating such requests. It’s a key contributor to gender equality in the workplace among many other benefits including staff retention in an ever-increasing competitive workforce. Employers being able to attract and retain staff can improve productivity, increase workplace happiness, and lower absenteeism.
As per the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), a flexible work arrangement is:
“an agreement between an employer and an employee to change the standard working arrangement to better accommodate an employee’s commitments out of work. These can include changes to the hours, pattern and location of work.”
According to the WGEA, 87 per cent of the Australian private sector had a formal policy or strategy on flexible working arrangements in 2023-24 with the Australian Beareau of Statistics reporting that 36 per cent of employed people usually worked from home in August 2024.
The Different Types of Flexible Work Arrangements
According to Fair Work, there are many ways to introduce flexible work arrangements such as:
- flexible start and finish times
- compressed hours (working more hours over fewer days)
- changing from full-time to part-time or casual work
- job sharing
- flexible rostering
- working from home or another location
- ‘purchasing’ extra paid leave
- unpaid leave
- taking rostered days off as 2 half days
- time off in lieu
- flexitime (allowing employees to ‘bank’ extra hours which are then exchanged for time off)
- gradual increase or decrease in work hours (for example, after parental leave, or as an employee transitions to retirement).
Legal Requirements of Flexible Work Arrangements
A common misconception is that not everyone can request a flexible working arrangement but this isn’t true. Anyone can request flexibility but not everyone has a legal entitlement to request flexible working arrangements under the Fair Work Act (FW Act). Employees who do have this legal entitlement include permanent employees who have worked with the employer for at least 12 months and regular casual employees who have worked with the employer regularly and systematically for at least 12 months. The request must be because the employee is:
- pregnant
- a parent of, or has responsibility for the care of, a child who is school age or younger
- a carer (within the meaning of the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
- a person with disability
- aged 55 or older
- experiencing family and domestic violence, or
- providing care or support to an immediate family member, or someone they live with, because they are experiencing family and domestic violence.
An award, agreement, employment contract or workplace policy can accommodate flexible working arrangements that are more beneficial than those stipulated in the FW Act but they cannot exclude or provide for less than the FW Act.
There are rules for responding to requests for flexible working arrangements under the FW Act which you can read more about here.
Flexible Work Policies
Adopting a flexible working arrangement policy for your workplace is a great way to show that your business supports accommodating the needs of your employees. When adopting a flexibility policy it’s important to consider your legal obligations whilst also factoring in the needs of your business and those you employ. It’s possible to achieve an ideal work-life balance and an experienced Commercial Lawyer can help you to draft a flexibility policy. Contact our office here for more information on how we can assist.
Resources for further reading:
SBS News Article on Flexible Work Arrangements in 2025
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
SEEK Article Explaining Flexible Working Arrangements in 2025
