Start of the right to disconnect and casual changes for small businesses
Published 26 August 2025
Changes have started for small business employees and their employers. Learn more about the right to disconnect and casual changes, and what you can do next.
On this page:
What's changed
Right to disconnect
The right to disconnect applies to employees of small business employersA small business employer is an employer with fewer than 15 employees at a particular time. If an employer has 15 or more employees at a particular time, they are no longer a small business employer. When counting the number of employees, employees of associated entities of the employer are included. Casual employees are not included unless engaged on a regular and systematic basis. from 26 August 2025. It has applied to employees of non-small business employersA non-small business employer is an employer with 15 or more employees at a particular time. When counting the number of employees, employees of associated entities of the employer are included. Casual employees aren’t included unless they’re engaged on a regular and systematic basis. since 26 August 2024.
The right to disconnect gives employees the right to refuse to monitor, read or reply to contact (or attempted contact) outside their working hours, unless doing so is unreasonable. This includes contact (or attempted contact) from an employer or a third party.
Casual changes
From 26 August 2025, eligible casuals employed by a small business can issue a notice to their employer (in writing) to change to full-time or part-time employment under the employee choice pathway. There are rules you need to follow when making or responding to a notice.
What you can do now
We have information and resources to help you understand and apply these changes.
Go to Right to disconnect to:
- understand the rules about the right to disconnect, including the factors to consider when working out whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable
- find practical examples and access tailored award information for your industry
- debunk common myths and get tips for discussing out of hours contact
- find out about protections and how to resolve disputes.
Watch our videos for small business employers
Watch our videos that can help employers:
- understand the right to disconnect rules and how they apply
- how to have a conversation with employees about the rules
- practical steps to take to apply the rules and avoid issues in the workplace.
Each video has subtitles available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Arabic.
Watch these videos now on our Right to disconnect page.
Go to Becoming a permanent employee to:
- learn about the employee choice pathway and how casuals can change to full-time or part-time employment
- understand the rules and access our free templates to help you make or respond to a notice.
Access free templates
Use our:
- Notifying your employer that you want to change to permanent employment checklist and notification template to make a notice under the employee choice pathway.
- Responding to an employee’s notice to change to permanent employment checklist and response template to confirm what steps an employer needs to take when accepting an employee's notice.
You can also download our Guide to casual employment Guide to casual employment to casual employment which has handy tips, examples and answers to frequently asked questions to help employers and employees understand the rules around casual employment.
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