On 20 October 2025 the Fair Work Commission (FWC) dealt with an employee’s application regarding a request for a flexible working arrangement (the Decision). The Decision serves as a warning to employers: when considering such requests, don’t just follow policy – look at the request properly and assess it on  its individual merits.

Relevant Legislation

Under section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) an employee may request changes to their working agreements, including hours, patterns or location of work for various reasons. This  includes if the employee is a parent of a child who that is school age or younger.

Section 65A outlines how an employer must respond to such a request, including the requirements for refusal  on reasonable business grounds.

Under section 65B, an employee may be apply to have the matter dealt with by the FWC if the employer refuses the request or does not respond to a request within 21 days.

Finally, section 65C empowers the FWC to, amongst other things, make an order requiring the employer to grant the request or make specified changes to the employee’s working arrangements.

Factual Background

The employee (Employee), who had worked for Westpac since 2002, was a part time employee working over 5 days a week 8 am to 2 pm (excluding Fridays) at the Kogarah Corporate office. The Employee has a history of successfully working remotely from home.   

In 2021, the Employee purchased a home further away from the Kogarah Corporate office.  Her two 6-year-old children attend a school located 30 minutes from the family home, in the opposite direction of the Kogarah Corporate office.

The Employee requested to work remotely from home to enable care for and attend school drops off and pick ups for her children.

Westpac refused the request without providing reasons. When the Employee asked for an explanation, she was referred to Westpac’s remote working policy and advised that ‘working from home is no substitution for childcare’ and ‘your arrangements for working remotely may change at any time at Westpac’s discretion.’ [Quotes from paragraph 14 of the Decision]

The Employee then offered an alternative – working 2 days a week at a closer Westpac Branch instead of attending the corporate office. Westpac refused this offer as well, maintaining there was a genuine and reasonable business need for the Employee to attend the Kogarah Corporate office at least 2 days a week.

Relevantly, the Westpac Group Enterprise Agreement (2025) allowed employees to request to work part of their time at a Westpac office and part away from the office (including from home or other location).

Decision

The FWC found there was no reasonable business grounds for Westpac’s refusal. It stated  there was “no question that [the Employees] work can be performed completely remotely. She has been working remotely for a number of years and doing so very successfully.”

This suggests it may be difficult for an employer to rely on reasonable business grounds to refuse a request if the employee has already been allowed to work remotely for an extended period..

The FWC also found that refusing the request would have been seriously prejudicial to the employee and her family.

Considerations for Employers

This decision makes it clear that if an employee makes a request for flexible working arrangements an employer must:

• genuinely consider the request;
• treat each request on its merits and assess it individually;
• avoid simply ticking boxes or relying solely on  policy; and
• if refusing,  provide detailed and specific reasons based on reasonable business grounds.

If you are unsure of your obligations or how to manage such requests, our team can assist. Please contact Robert Lamb or John Davies on 07 3220 1144.

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