Right to disconnect laws slashing unpaid overtime hours
Labor laws that protect workers’ free time appear to be paying off, with research showing workers are working less unpaid overtime.
If rates had remained the same as before Labor’s right-to-disconnect laws came into force, the average full-time worker would work $4,500 extra a year in unpaid overtime, according to a report by the Australia Institute’s Center for Future Work published on Wednesday.
Fiona Macdonald, the report’s author, said other factors could have played a role in reducing unpaid overtime, but the law had the intended effect.
The survey found that in 2023, full-time employees will work an average of 6.2 hours of unpaid overtime per week.
After the law was implemented in 2024, this number dropped to 4.1 hours. In the survey conducted with the participation of 1001 workers this year, this rate decreased to 3.8 hours per week.
At today’s wages, this means unpaid overtime per worker will drop from $13,392 in 2023 to $8,892 in 2025.
Dr Macdonald told AAP: “Cost-of-living pressures are still affecting people’s willingness to work. So otherwise you wouldn’t expect that willingness to fall particularly.”
He suggested that an increase in collective bargaining could lead to workers bargaining for greater flexibility arrangements, which could contribute to reducing unpaid overtime for full-time workers.
However, the opposite was true for part-time and temporary workers.
Unpaid overtime for part-time workers increased from 2.8 hours per week in 2024 to 3.7 hours per week in 2025.
Dr Macdonald said there were several reasons why right-to-disconnect laws might be less effective for part-time workers.
First, they tend to work in industries such as hospitality and retail, which have a higher proportion of small businesses that have had to comply with right-to-disconnect-only laws since August 2025.
“So I think we may see some additional reductions. But I also think there are some systemic, structural issues with part-time work,” he said.
Part-time workers are more likely to work in precarious, insecure jobs and may, for example, be less aware of their rights.
Dr Macdonald said adding provisions to collective agreements to ensure overtime comes into play automatically or that employers must transparently record hours worked against hours paid could help address the problem.
Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth said no significant disputes with the Fair Work Commission over the right to disconnect laws had arisen in the first 12 months.
He pointed to an Australian HR Institute survey showing 58 per cent of employers say the right to disconnect increases employee engagement and productivity.
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