Dr Anna Kokavec, a senior lecturer at James Cook University's Townsville campus, has lost her Fair Work Commission case seeking to work remotely from the Sunshine Coast, approximately 900 kilometres away. The Commission determined that her initial claim of having a cognitive disorder diagnosis was unfounded, undermining her application for flexible work arrangements to manage her health conditions. The case highlights the tension between employee wellbeing and operational requirements for roles involving direct student contact.

The dispute began in October 2024 when Dr Kokavec requested a year-long remote working arrangement, citing a cognitive disorder diagnosis. However, during the May 2025 Fair Work hearing, she acknowledged that she had no such diagnosis and was merely using the term to illustrate her inability to perform campus-based work. Deputy President Terri Butler found the Subject Request stated "a disorder the Applicant concedes she did not have" and that whilst Dr Kokavec does have diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an adjustment disorder, and fibromyalgia, the evidence did not establish how working solely from home would address her actual conditions. James Cook University had offered a compromise of 40 per cent remote work with external recruitment for the remaining student-facing duties, which Dr Kokavec rejected.