Australian employees can now ignore after-hours work-related emails without fear of punishment following a recently passed “right to disconnect” law designed to curb work-to-personal life intrusion.

“Just as people don’t get paid 24 hours a day, they don’t have to work for 24 hours a day,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared while speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday (26 August), Unilad reports.

“For many Australians, I think they’re getting frustrated that they’re expected to be on their phones, their emails, all of that, for 24 hours a day. It’s a mental health issue, frankly.“

There are however conditions associated with the new legislation such as:

The law only applies to workers in businesses with more than 15 employees for now, however, companies with less than 15 employees will be able to disconnect after hours from 22 August 2025.

While the new law grants employees the right to refuse contact, it doesn’t technically prevent your boss from sending an email or message.

Employers however face the possibility of a fine should they insist on unreasonable after-hours work-related correspondence, Reuters reports.

The refusal also comes with a catch as employees can only refuse the out-of-hours contact if their refusal is ‘not unreasonable’. Reasonability is of course based on individual circumstances and the workplace.