Thursday 10 September 2026Victoria edition
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Victoria's Upper House Votes to Defer Work-From-Home Laws

Victoria's upper house has voted to defer the government's work-from-home laws to a parliamentary committee, in a major blow for Labor ahead of the November state election. The move means the legislation is now unlikely to be debated before the state election.

SR
By Staff Reporter
News reporter · Updated about 2 hours ago

Victoria's upper house has voted to refer the government's work-from-home laws to a parliamentary committee, dealing a significant blow to Labor ahead of the November state election.

Labor had anticipated that its legislation would pass the upper house on Wednesday, following a series of concessions made by Premier Ben Carroll for businesses. However, a motion to defer the bill was brought forward by Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Jeff Bourman.

After a months-long absence, Labor MP-turned-independent Adem Somyurek returned to parliament to vote in favor of the referral, which narrowly passed 18 votes to 17.

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