Right to Disconnect: Compare Support for Australian Employers

Choose Xemplo for an adaptable policy and customer-only automated distribution, Sprintlaw for tailored legal-document support, or HR Consulting TAS for a practical review of after-hours arrangements.[4][5][8]

Compare the three support routes

Xemplo

Implementation need: An adaptable right-to-disconnect policy and, for Xemplo customers, support distributing it to employees.[4]

Described support: A downloadable template to customise and share with the team. Customers can automate distribution at employment lifecycle stages, including commencement, or target employees in specified roles.[4]

Key limitation: The template needs business-specific adaptation; automated distribution is available to Xemplo customers, not everyone downloading the document.[4]

Sprintlaw

Implementation need: Tailored legal-document or compliance support rather than a generic policy template.[5]

Described support: Updating contracts, position descriptions, handbooks and right-to-disconnect policies, alongside aligning rosters, on-call duties, compensation and escalation processes.[5]

Key limitation: Its guide describes potential support rather than an itemised engagement scope. Confirm which documents and operational tasks its tailored fixed-fee quote includes.[5]

HR Consulting TAS

Implementation need: A practical review of expectations for salaried or part-time staff, employees with on-call responsibilities, or those handling regular after-hours client contact.[8]

Described support: Help reviewing those arrangements, with enquiries invited by email.[8]

Key limitation: Its page provides general information, not tailored legal advice or a replacement for legal counsel; confirm the advice and deliverables an engagement would include.[8]

Confirm coverage before setting expectations

National-system employees may refuse to monitor, read or respond to employer or work-related third-party contact outside working hours unless refusal is unreasonable. Independent contractors are outside this statutory right.[2] This is not a blanket ban on sending messages.[2]

Small-business commencement has already occurred. If the employer was a small-business employer on 26 August 2024, the right applied to its employees from 26 August 2025.[2]

Check the applicable award and enterprise agreement: all modern awards contain a right-to-disconnect term, while enterprise agreements may have different terms. Terms more favourable to employees than the statutory right continue to apply.[2]

Assess refusal, not just the message’s urgency

If contact or attempted contact is required by law, refusing to monitor, read or respond is unreasonable.[2] Otherwise, the assessment must consider:

• The reason for contact.[2]
• The contact method and how disruptive it is.[2]
• Pay or other compensation for availability or work outside ordinary hours.[2]
• The employee’s role and responsibility level.[2]
• Personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.[2]

Other matters may also count; an “urgent” label does not settle the assessment.[2] As a practical aid, record the circumstances against these factors.

Sprintlaw illustrates the distinction with a major outage stopping trade: contacting an IT manager with compensated, rostered on-call duties is likely reasonable, unlike a minor, non-urgent query during annual leave. These are examples, not binding outcomes.[5]

HR Consulting TAS cautions against treating salary as unlimited availability: consider the role, normal hours, award or agreement, contract and what remuneration covers.[8]

Build a role-specific contact and backup protocol

Give urgent work a defined route rather than expecting everyone to watch every channel. HR Consulting TAS suggests routine email can wait until the next working day, while a designated manager’s call signals genuine urgency.[8]

Adapt these fields for each role, rather than imposing a blanket availability rule:

• Role and ordinary hours: Record the role or team and ordinary working hours.[5]
• Urgent triggers: Agree situations requiring immediate attention, such as safety incidents or critical system failures, rather than treating every client query or staffing gap as urgent.[8]
• Contact channel: Use email for routine work, with “no response expected until your next working period”, or delayed sending. Reserve a designated manager’s call for urgent matters.[8][5]
• Rostered contact: Identify the on-call role or person, coverage period and planned handover when coverage changes.[5]
• Backup owner: Name an alternate contact and escalation route so urgent coverage does not depend on one individual.[5]
• Compensation: Check the relevant award or enterprise agreement and document applicable allowances, overtime or other arrangements alongside expectations.[8][5]
• Response expectations: Agree role-specific urgent-response arrangements and route unanswered contact to the backup. Assess any refusal against the statutory factors rather than assuming silence is misconduct.[5][2]

The official guidance does not prescribe a universal response time, emergency definition or escalation ladder.[1][2][3]

Discuss, document and explain expectations

Discuss out-of-hours contact with employees and tailor expectations to their roles and workplace, as the Fair Work Ombudsman recommends.[1]

Document ordinary hours, permitted contact circumstances, channels, response expectations and where employees can raise pressure to respond.[5] Align contracts and position descriptions with genuine on-call duties, frequency and compensation—not generic unlimited-availability wording.[5]

Brief managers on workload planning, consistent application, delayed sending and clear “no action required until…” messages.[5] Ask the chosen provider which implementation tasks remain with the employer.

Resolve concerns before escalating a dispute

If expectations break down, start with an internal discussion and revisit the arrangements and refusal factors.[2][5] Sprintlaw recommends workplace resolution first and identifies the Fair Work Commission as an escalation route for unresolved matters.[5]

Sprintlaw warns of potential right-to-disconnect orders and civil penalties for breaching an order. It also warns of general-protections claims arising from adverse action because an employee exercised the right.[5] Ask explicitly whether dispute assistance is included in the engagement; do not assume policy support includes representation.

What to confirm with each provider

Neither Xemplo’s nor Sprintlaw’s guide publishes prices; request written quotes and terms.[4][5]

• Xemplo: Confirm template access, adaptation assistance, distribution setup and any subscription or implementation charges. Automated distribution is for Xemplo customers.[4]
• Sprintlaw: Use its free, no-obligation telephone or email chat to request a tailored fixed-fee quote.[5] Specify the documents, revision rounds and implementation assistance required.
• HR Consulting TAS: Enquire by email.[8] Its pricing page lists a monthly HR Starter Plan (1 hour of HR support, a monthly 30-minute check-in, no lock-in, cancel anytime), but the displayed price is unclear; confirm the monthly amount and the cost of a right-to-disconnect review.[9]

Sprintlaw’s locations page says it serves clients across Australia.[10] Before committing, confirm other providers’ geographic coverage and ask each provider about support for your employment arrangements, implementation ownership, scope-change charges and how service concerns will be handled. Get deliverables, renewal and cancellation terms in writing.

References

1. Right to disconnect – Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au)
2. What is the right to disconnect | Fair Work Commission (fwc.gov.au)
3. Australian Public Service Commission I Page i Guidance on the Right to (apsc.gov.au)
4. Navigating Australia's Right To Disconnect (Employer Guide) (xemplo.com)
5. Right To Disconnect Law: Essential Australian Employer's … (sprintlaw.com.au)
8. Employee Right To Disconnect Rules Explained | HR Consulting Tas (hrconsultingtas.com.au)
9. HR Starter Plan | HR Consulting Tas (hrconsultingtas.com.au)
10. Contact Sprintlaw | Get a Fixed-Fee Quote (sprintlaw.com.au)