Introduction: A New Era for Workplaces
From 26 August 2025, Australia’s Right to Disconnect laws officially apply to small businesses, including those in professional services [1]. While the intent is to protect employee well-being, the implications for small business owners may be significant and potentially disruptive.
Small business employers now need to juggle new rules on top of existing legal obligations and enterprise agreements.
What Is the Right to Disconnect?
The law gives employees the legal right to refuse contact (calls, emails, texts) outside of their working hours unless the refusal is deemed unreasonable [1] [2].
Disconnect applies to all contact or attempted contact, including something as simple as a text message. Employees have the right to refuse to respond outside business hours if the request is unreasonable. While what counts as unreasonable is yet to be tested in small businesses, it’s likely the Fair Work Commission will eventually get involved when a dispute is raised.
Who Does It Apply To?
As of August 2025, it applies to all small businesses (fewer than 15 employees), following a 12-month grace period [3].
While it’s important to respect and understand how the right to disconnect applies and employees’ personal circumstances, running a small business does require some level of flexibility due to limited resources and as key decisions may need to be made outside hours, and these decisions may rely on employees to respond outside of ordinary hours.
What Counts as “Unreasonable” Refusal?
Factors include:
- The urgency of the contact
- The employee’s role and pay
- Whether the employee is on-call
- The method and timing of the contact [3]
What It Doesn’t Mean
It’s not illegal to contact employees after hours—but they can legally ignore it unless it’s unreasonable to do so [3].
The Impact on Professional Services
Professional Services Industries like accounting, broking, and financial planning often require after-hours responsiveness—especially during tax season, loan settlements, or urgent client queries [4].
The right to disconnect will impact the ability of small businesses to respond to any client needs outside of work hours. The right to disconnect will impact best practice and service delivery to clients, meaning there should be some thought put to other ways small business employers can continue to provide quality support without running afoul of enterprise agreements or the Fair Work Act .
The Accounting Industry Example
Accountants face:
- Tight regulatory deadlines
- Client expectations for quick responses
- Expectation of At Call Support from Small Business Owner Clients
Legal and Compliance Risks
As an example, employers must now:
- Spend more time on Human Resource Management
- Review current staff employment contracts
- Avoid penalising employees for not responding after hours
- Prepare for potential Fair Work disputes [2]
Operational Disruption
The law limits flexibility, especially for:
- Urgent client needs
- Cross-time-zone collaboration
- Project-based work with tight turnarounds
Cultural Shift Required
Firms must now redefine expectations, retrain managers, and shift workplace culture to avoid legal exposure [4].
The Hidden Cost: Reduced Agility
Small businesses thrive on agility. This change introduces rigid boundaries that can slow down decision-making and responsiveness.
Alternative Solution? Outsourcing to the Philippines
Outsourcing offers a legal, cost-effective, and flexible alternative to hiring onshore staff, it is important to ensure that
Why the Philippines?
- Separate Employer Staff employed through a Philippine Entity
- English proficiency and cultural compatibility
- Time zone alignment with Australia
- Skilled professionals in accounting, finance, admin, and customer service [6]
Roles You Can Outsource
- Client services
- Accounting Tasks
- Loan processing
- Paraplanning
- Bookkeeping
- Admin support
- Marketing and CRM management [6]
How Outsourcing Avoids Right to Disconnect Issues
If engaging a reputable outsource partner like OBS, staff are employed by a Philippine employer and subject to the labour laws of the Philippines, for example:
- You can maintain after-hours responsiveness
- You avoid Fair Work disputes
- You retain operational flexibility
The OBS Advantage
At OBS we specialise in outsourcing for professional services. Here’s how we help:
Tailored Recruitment
We match you with pre-vetted, experienced professionals in your industry.
Compliance Handled
We manage all legal, payroll, and HR compliance in the Philippines—so you don’t have to.
Seamless Integration
Our staff work in your systems, follow your processes, and act as an extension of your team.
Flexible Engagement Models
No fixed-term contract for full-time or part-time roles.
Real-Time Collaboration
Thanks to time zone alignment, your offshore team is available when you are, even after hours.
Proven Results
Our clients report:
- Faster turnaround times
- Capacity to focus on other matters
- Lower overheads
- Improved client satisfaction
Case Study: Mortgage Broker Success
A Melbourne-based broker outsourced loan processing and admin to OBS. The Result?
- Cost reduction
- Increase client support
- Business Growth
How to Get Started
- Book a free consultation
- Define your staffing needs
- We recruit, onboard, and manage your offshore team
- You focus on growing your business
Why Now?
With the Right to Disconnect laws now in effect, inaction is a risk. Outsourcing offers a different option for small businesses, with potential benefits to business cash flow, reduced exposure to disputes, and ensuring that staff in the Philippines receive fair pay for their contribution to the growth of business.
Final Thoughts
The Right to Disconnect is well-intentioned, but it creates real challenges for small businesses. What impact will this have on the Australian Economy and Small business remains to be seen. But with the ability to disconnect and employees’ right to refuse to respond to contact outside of hours, now could be the ideal time for Australian small businesses to look at what outsourcing can offer.
