Premier Jacinta Allan has revealed Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act will be the vehicle for legislating a right for all public and private sector employees to work from home two days a week if they reasonably can.
The legislation will be introduced to state parliament in July and come into effect from September 1.
The decision is designed to skirt around industrial relations laws, which are set by federal parliament and regulated by the Fair Work Commission.
"There are already opportunities, through state-based equal opportunity acts, to be able to add to protected attributes that are not contradictory and indeed complement and strengthen federal workplace relations laws," Ms Allan said.
Industrial Relations Minister Jaclyn Symes acknowledged legal questions arose from the mandate, with Australia's constitution dictating Commonwealth law supersedes state law when they conflict.
The government's advice was that the Equal Opportunity Act was "the avenue with the least risk" to withstand constitutional challenge, she told reporters.
The laws would have to establish what discrimination they were guarding against, former Fair Work Commission vice-president Graeme Watson said.
"It smacks of being a device ... to dress up something that doesn't sound like equal opportunity law preventing discrimination," the labour law expert told AAP.
"It sounds like providing a right for employees which will intrude into regulations under federal legislation, where there are existing rights to seek flexibility on work locations."
Mr Watson said the proposal would create more work for tribunals dealing with disputes and wagered the High Court would ultimately be drawn into making a ruling.
"I'm still of the view that this is very, very difficult for the government to validly implement," he said.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has indicated she supports working from home but wants more detail on the legislation.
Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the proposed right was worth fighting for, suggesting the government would not back away from a constitutional challenge.
"We'll see you in court," she said in parliament.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows work-from-home rates have dipped following rapid uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2019, 32.1 per cent of employed people were usually working from home.
The rate hit 40.5 per cent by August 2021 and steadily fell to 36.2 per cent by August 2025.
A government-initiated survey on the proposed mandate found 74 per cent of employees considered working from home "extremely important".
But business lobby groups have dismissed the process as "not true consultation" and complained about being "unheard".
Small businesses will be roped into the legislated right but will not have to apply it until mid-2027 so they have more time to get their HR policies and procedures in order.
Menka Michaelides, who owns and runs Pro Repair Auto Care Centre in Melbourne's inner suburbs, said the proposed laws were a cause for concern.
"It's going to create a two-tier situation where the admin staff have the ability and the right to work from home but the blue collar workers will have to come in," she said.
"That will create a divide and would add another layer to our business, making it harder to get things done."
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