8 min read

Understanding The Right to Disconnect Australia for Recruiters

Key Takeaways

New Boundaries: Employees now have the legal right to ignore work-related contact outside of their paid hours.
Referee Impact: Referees are employees of other organizations; contacting them after hours may now be ineffective or intrusive.
Compliance Risk: Persistent after-hours calls could cause friction or legal issues under new regulations.
The Solution: Asynchronous reference checking removes time constraints and respects the referee's schedule.

The employment landscape in Australia has shifted significantly. New legislation aims to protect the personal time of workers, which introduces a complex layer to the hiring process. You must now consider how the Right to Disconnect Australia changes the way you gather information about candidates.

Previously, calling a referee after standard business hours was a common tactic to catch busy managers. However, these new rules require a change in approach. This article examines the specific challenges this law creates for reference checking and offers practical solutions to maintain efficiency without crossing boundaries.

Understanding The Right to Disconnect Australia for Recruiters

What the New Legislation Means for You

The "Right to Disconnect" grants employees the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from an employer or a third party outside of their working hours. This applies unless the refusal is unreasonable.

This legislation protects work-life balance. For recruiters, it signals a need to adjust expectations regarding response times. You can no longer assume that a quick call at 6:00 PM will be answered or welcomed.

Why This Matters for Reference Checks

When you conduct a reference check, you are contacting an individual who is likely an employee at another company. Even though they are not your employee, they are covered by these protections in relation to their own employment.

If a referee feels pressured to complete work-related tasks—such as providing a professional reference—outside of their paid hours, they may exercise their right to disconnect. This can lead to:

Delayed hiring processes.
Frustrated referees.
Incomplete reference data.

How Recruitment Laws 2025 Affect Contacting Referees

Looking ahead at recruitment laws 2025, the focus on worker wellbeing and digital boundaries will likely intensify. The current changes are just the beginning of a shift toward stricter separation between work and home life.

Contacting referees has traditionally relied on phone tag. You call, leave a message, and hope they call back. Often, the only time a senior manager is free to talk is after their official workday ends. Under the new framework, relying on this window of time is risky.

The Problem with the Phone Call Model

The traditional phone-based method has several flaws in this new environment:

Restricted Availability: If referees exercise their right to disconnect, your window to reach them shrinks to standard business hours.
Competing Priorities: During business hours, referees are busy with their actual jobs.
Unanswered Calls: Increased protection of personal time means business calls to personal mobiles after hours are more likely to be ignored.

The Risks of After-Hours Communication

Trying to force after-hours communication can negatively impact your employer brand and the candidate experience. If you persist in calling referees when they are off the clock, you signal a lack of respect for current workplace norms.

Potential Consequences

Negative Perception: The referee may view your organization as unprofessional or demanding.
Poor Quality References: A referee who feels annoyed or intruded upon may provide shorter, less detailed answers just to get off the phone.
Compliance Gray Areas: While you may not be the referee's employer, creating an expectation that they must work (by giving a reference) during unpaid time contributes to a culture that the law aims to correct.

Automated Reminders and Asynchronous Solutions

The most effective way to address these challenges is to move away from synchronous communication (phone calls) toward asynchronous methods. This approach allows referees to provide information on their own terms.

How Asynchronous Checking Works

Instead of a phone call, you send a secure link to the referee. They access the questionnaire when it suits them. This might be during a lunch break, a scheduled admin block, or effectively any time they choose to work.

This method aligns perfectly with the Right to Disconnect Australia principles because:

No Immediate Pressure: The referee receives the request but does not need to action it instantly.
Control: The referee decides when they are "connected" and ready to respond.
Efficiency: You do not waste time dialing numbers and leaving voicemails.

The Role of Technology

Modern platforms handle the heavy lifting for you. They can send automated reminders during business hours, which nudges the referee without intruding on their personal time.

Furthermore, accessibility is key. Referees often prefer flexibility. Providing mobile-friendly reference checks lets them complete the task on their device whenever they choose. This significantly increases response rates because the referee is not tied to a desk or a specific time slot.

Benefits of the Digital Approach

Compliance: You avoid the risk of disturbing referees during protected time.
Speed: Digital checks are often returned faster than phone calls because the referee fits them into small pockets of free time.
Fraud Detection: Digital systems can capture IP addresses and browser data to help verify the referee's identity.
Better Data: Referees often write more detailed responses when they have time to think, compared to being put on the spot during a phone call.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Right to Disconnect apply to everyone?

Most employees in Australia are covered by these changes, though specific rules can vary based on awards and enterprise agreements. It generally applies to effective communication outside of paid working hours.

Can I still email a referee on the weekend?

You can send the email, but you cannot expect a response until working hours resume. The risk is that a backlog of weekend emails might overwhelm the referee on Monday morning. Automated systems help by timing requests appropriately.

What if the referee agrees to speak after hours?

If a referee voluntarily agrees to a call after hours, that is their choice. However, you should not pressure them or imply that a refusal will harm the candidate's chances.

Adapting Your Strategy for Future Success

The introduction of the Right to Disconnect Australia requires a tactical shift in recruitment. Clinging to traditional phone-based reference checking is becoming less effective and potentially problematic.

By adopting asynchronous tools, you respect the new legal landscape while actually improving your workflow. You remove the friction of scheduling calls and allow referees to contribute high-quality feedback at their convenience.

To maintain a robust hiring process:

Audit Your Methods: Review how and when your team contacts referees.
Adopt Digital Tools: Implement systems that support asynchronous data collection.
Respect Boundaries: Train your team to understand the importance of personal time for all stakeholders in the hiring process.

Compliance with recruitment laws 2025 and beyond is not just about avoiding fines; it is about building a respectful, modern, and efficient recruitment function. The move to digital, referee-led verification is the logical step forward.