The Fair Work Amendment (Right to Work from Home) Bill 2025 (Cth) is currently being considered by the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Employment Legislation, and the Auctioneers and Valuers Association of Australia (AVAA) has lodged a formal submission setting out the sector’s views.

Prepared by theAVAA Government Affairs Committee, the submission recognises that flexible work arrangements are already a feature of many auction and valuation businesses, with firms adapting quickly during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and often retaining a mix of office-based and remote work where it suits the role, the client, and the business. For small professional practices, the submission notes that hybrid arrangements can support retention, strengthen staff morale, and assist firms to compete for skilled employees in a tightening labour market.

However, AVAA emphasises that auction and valuation firms are not large, standardised workplaces. They are typically small teams delivering time-critical, high-value services under professional and legal obligations, often involving physical inspections, confidential client information, supervision and peer review, and direct engagement with vendors, buyers, insurers, financiers, and regulators. In this environment, decisions about where work is performed are closely linked to service quality, accountability, confidentiality, and client outcomes.

The submission notes that while the Bill is framed as a “right to request”, it proposes a strengthened framework for working from home arrangements, including narrower grounds for refusal and expanded third-party oversight. AVAA cautions that this approach could shift ordinary operational decisions into a more formal dispute environment and reduce a business’s ability to manage work allocation, supervision, and quality assurance in a practical, timely manner.

For senior managers, AVAA’s submission highlights that the central issue is not whether flexible work is appropriate as many businesses already offer it, but whether the proposed legislative model unintentionally creates risk for small professional firms. In practice, auction and valuation businesses must balance flexibility with deadlines, site access, client confidentiality, regulatory obligations, and the need for collaboration across small teams where each staff member often performs multiple critical functions.

AVAA also draws attention to the administrative impacts that can arise when workplace arrangements become increasingly procedural. For small firms, additional requirements to document decisions, manage requests, and potentially defend them externally can add compliance burden and divert management time away from business development, client service, and professional oversight. This may be particularly challenging where practices operate across multiple sites, service remote areas, or face seasonal fluctuations in workload.

Importantly, the submission points to the reality that auctioneering and valuation work is outcomes-driven, with errors capable of carrying significant financial, regulatory, and reputational consequences. It also highlights that remote work arrangements can introduce additional considerations relating to data security, confidentiality, work health and safety, and supervision of early-career staff, especially where sensitive client information, valuation evidence, or financial records are involved.

While supporting flexibility in principle, AVAA encourages a practical policy approach that promotes cooperative workplace arrangements, provides clear guidance to small businesses, and preserves appropriate managerial discretion where professional standards, client service quality, and operational sustainability are at stake.