Fair Work Commission grants older Melbourne adviser one weekly work-from-home day
Michele Duffy, a Victoria University student adviser over 55, has won a significant Fair Work Commission ruling allowing her to work from home one day per week. She successfully argued that commuting had become increasingly exhausting due to her age. The case matters because it establishes that age-related fatigue from commuting can be a legitimate basis for flexible working arrangements, without requiring medical evidence to support the claim.
Ms Duffy initially requested two days per week working remotely at the university's busy Melbourne CBD student service centre, but Commissioner Oanh Thi Tran approved only one day per week, ruling that whilst the university had reasonable business grounds to refuse the fuller request, some accommodation was warranted. Ms Duffy, who has worked at Victoria University since 2008, had highlighted duties that could be performed remotely and offered flexibility around which specific day she would work from home, though the university maintained that face-to-face availability was essential for the centre's operations.
- Worker over 55 wins one day per week remote work approval
- Age-related commuting fatigue deemed sufficient without medical evidence
- University's operational concerns partly upheld in Fair Work Commission ruling
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The Fair Work Commission is Australia's independent workplace tribunal that resolves disputes between employers and workers and sets legal precedents affecting millions across the country. Michele Duffy is a student adviser at Victoria University in Melbourne who has worked there since 2008 and recently brought a case before the commission. She sought permission to work from home part of the week because she found the physical demands of commuting to the university's city campus increasingly exhausting as she aged.
The case tests whether age-related fatigue from commuting alone—without medical evidence or formal diagnosis—can justify an employer providing flexible working arrangements. This question matters because it could establish a new type of ground that older workers can use when requesting flexibility, and may influence how employers across Australia respond to similar requests. Previously, such accommodations typically required medical support or evidence of disability.
Victoria University resisted Duffy's request, arguing that staff needed to be physically present at the busy student services centre in the CBD. The Fair Work Commission had to balance Duffy's workplace needs against the university's operational requirements. The tribunal's decision will likely influence how similar disputes between older workers and employers are resolved in Australia.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Older workers face well-documented challenges with commuting fatigue, particularly those over 55, and Ms Duffy's request for one additional work-from-home day is modest and reasonable, especially as she identified specific tasks suited to remote completion and offered flexibility on scheduling. Her 18 years at the university demonstrate commitment, and the fact the employer agreed one day per week was operationally manageable indicates the accommodation is genuinely viable. Supporting worker wellbeing, particularly for experienced staff, serves both human dignity and business interests through improved retention and productivity. This ruling appropriately recognises that age-related needs warrant accommodation without requiring medical evidence.
The case against
A student service centre's core purpose is providing face-to-face advice and support, which cannot be effectively delivered if staff are routinely absent one day per week. The university, which compromised by agreeing to one day of remote work, has legitimate concerns that further fragmentation of in-person availability could harm service quality and student experience. Operational continuity matters, and accommodating every flexible working request could establish precedents that ultimately undermine the centre's ability to fulfil its primary function. The Fair Work Commissioner's ruling itself found the fuller request unreasonable, suggesting the university's operational concerns had genuine merit.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Worker wins significant work-from-home ruling because she’s over 55 and commuting is too exhausting: ‘Reduce physical fatigue’”.