Melbourne business owners say Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s controversial work from home reforms could push companies to leave the state in favour of other Australian, or international, locations.
Daniel Kitay, founder of natural lolly brand Funday Natural Sweets, says the proposed plan to change legislation to allow private and public employees across Victoria to work-from-home for up to two days a week, means the odds are now stacking up against Victorian businesses.
“I don’t say that as a hypothetical. I’ve spoken to other founders who are already planning to shift their operations to other states or overseas,” he told SmartCompany on Monday.
“We’re dealing with the highest payroll tax burden in the country, 4.85%, rising land taxes, a complicated regulatory environment, and now a government telling us how to manage our teams.”
Over the weekend, Kitay took to LinkedIn with a post calling for businesses to take the lead on culture and let the government focus on creating an environment where building a business is worth the risk.
“The Victorian Government’s proposed bill mandating a minimum two days of working from home is a classic case of well-meaning policy with unintended consequences,” Kitay said in the post.
Limoncello brand Solbevi co-founder Stefan Di Benedetto, who founded his brand with best mate Darcy Holden in 2023, also voiced his approval of Kitay’s post on his own LinkedIn feed.
Both founders say they don’t have an issue with working from home, with Funday already offering all of its team the option to work from home two days a week and Solbevi also offering flexibility for its employees.
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Instead, Kitay told SmartCompany, he is concerned the Victorian government thinks it knows better than the people running the businesses, without taking into consideration that every company is different. What works for one business might not work for another, he says, and employees should be free to decide if it suits their lifestyle or not.
For Kitay and Di Benedetto, culture is something you build over time, not something you enforce by law.
Funday founder explains why Premier’s proposed WFH plans are not a sweet deal
As someone with a young family, Kitay says he personally finds working from home helpful and the balance valuable. In fact, being able to juggle home and work life with a bit more flexibility makes a big difference.
However, he believes the Victorian government’s plans to legislate new work-from-home protections set a dangerous precedent.
“My issue is with the government stepping in and telling business owners how to run their companies,” Kitay told SmartCompany.
“We’ve got a state drowning in debt. Infrastructure projects are stalling. Crime is rising. The health system needs fixing.”
The Funday founder uses Victoria’s public transport system as an example. Melbourne still doesn’t allow iPhone tap-on payment for trams and trains, he says, despite Sydney having had this system for years.
This change is expected to roll-out in Victoria in early 2026.
“It’s a small thing, but it says a lot about how behind we are on the basics,” says Kitay.
“We’re one of the only major cities in the world without a train to the airport. These are basic, modern public services. That’s what our government should be focusing on,” Kitay says.
“And yet somehow the government thinks legislating a workplace perk is the priority. It makes no sense. It also chips away at one of the few things a business owner has – the right to make cultural decisions for their company. That’s what concerns me the most.”
Kitay added that when governments start telling founders what their work culture must be, they remove one of the core reasons people start businesses in the first place: the freedom to do things their way.
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Funday has a team of 25 employees, mostly full-time with some part-time team members, across its marketing, product development, commercial, finance and operations departments.
The next few months are shaping up to be very busy for the lolly brand, with a pipeline of new products and flavours coming out.
As well as landing in Coles confectionery aisles nationwide in July 2025, the brand is growing steadily internationally, with its products already in New Zealand, recent launches in parts of Asia and the US next on the radar.
But Kitay believes the new work-from-home proposed plans see more firms leave Victoria, or consider hiring overseas talent or investing in artificial intelligence and automation, if the cost of employing people locally becomes too high or complex.
“To be clear, this isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about survival,” Kitay says.
“When a business is paying huge payroll tax bills, increased superannuation, now at 12% as of 1st July 2025, dealing with high operating costs and now facing a potential law that dictates how their staff can and can’t work, they’re going to look for smarter and leaner ways to operate.”
Kitay says he wants to hire people in Victoria, he wants to create jobs, and he wants to contribute to the local economy.
“But when you keep stacking the odds against us, it forces founders to look elsewhere. We’re not trying to avoid responsibility,” he says.
“We just want the freedom to build our businesses without feeling like the government is constantly looking over our shoulder.”
Culture is everything for Solbevi founder
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Di Benedetto also weighed into the work-from-home debate, telling SmartCompany the Victorian economy is already under pressure.
“A mandate like this will only make it more difficult for small to medium businesses to employ and invest money into our economy,” Di Benedetto says.
“We will be forced to utilise more AI or offshore staff for a fraction of the price to achieve a similar outcome.”
Solbevi has seven employees, including four full-time team members.
Over the last six months, the brand has launched into New Zealand and increased its ranging with Qantas. During the next 12 months, Solbevi will be launching into Malaysia and Singapore, as well as rolling into all Coles Liquor stores and Dan Murphy’s across Australia.
Di Benedetto says he is frustrated the Victorian government wants to force the hand of businesses owners and employees.
“It is our business, we should have a right to build it the way we want to and the best businesses are built on amazing culture. An amazing culture means you have created a place where people want to come and work. So stopping people from doing so is just silly,” he says.
“It means we can’t drive growth and build culture here in Victoria. Our home. Culture is absolutely everything for a successful business.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. That’s what they say – so why restrict our ability to contribute to the economy. Why make it worse for the economy?”
