Flexible working arrangements have become the new normal for millions of employees, with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing 37 per cent of Australians now regularly work from home.

But with some workers using that flexibility to engage in practices such as "quiet vacationing", you might be wondering just how flexible or creative you are allowed to be with your location, and what counts as 'home', when you are working from home.

Are remote work and work from home the same thing?

Remote work and work from home are terms that are often used interchangeably, but as Griffith University Business School lecturer Ben French explains, "they do have distinct nuances".

"Remote work refers to any work done outside of a traditional work environment and could include working from locations such as cafes while you're travelling," Dr French says.

"Typically, work from home specifically refers to performing work duties from one's own home."

Brisbane/Meanjin-based labour law expert Graeme Orr from the University of Queensland says remote work could also apply to a range of non-office-based professions.

"So, travelling salespeople, fly-in fly-out mining workers for big companies that have multiple sites, architects and people who do environmental consulting and so on," Professor Orr says.

Why does your boss need to know where you're working from?

Dr French says there are several reasons why working remotely from a location that isn't an approved home office can be a problem, and workers' compensation is at the top of the list.

"There are other concerns, of course, such as health and safety compliance, data security and confidentiality," Dr French says.

"Employers have a duty to protect sensitive company information, client information, et cetera, under the Privacy Act as well, so remote work, depending on the role, might not be appropriate."

Employers also have a duty of care, and must take steps as far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure employees are working in a safe, healthy and digitally connected environment, and that obligation extends to working from home.

"Management has an obligation to provide basic equipment, so if they're letting you work from home, they should be supplying you with noise-cancelling headphones, ensuring that your computer equipment is up to scratch and maybe giving advice [via video call] on the suitability of chairs and so on," Professor Orr says.

So I can't work from my holiday location?

If you have permission to work from home and then change your location without informing your employer, you may not be covered for workers' compensation in the event of injury — especially if you are working in a different jurisdiction than you have approval to.

"If you're working interstate [without approval], you're working remotely and you haven't reported that to your employer, then obviously you're not likely to have a successful claim," he says.

If, on the other hand, you have informed your employer of a move, Professor Orr says there are no legal implications in changing your work from home location.

"What matters is the principle that you are in a place that's relatively safe and have the equipment that's necessary, that is well set up," he says.

"It doesn't really matter whether you move from one apartment to another, that will just change the specifics of the environment you're in."

Getting the balance right

Despite research from the Productivity Commission suggesting "productivity will remain the same or improve under more widespread working from home", assistant professor of Organisational Behaviour at Bond University Libby Sander says some employers still have a negative view of remote work.

"It ties in with this perception that people who aren't in the office five days a week are kind of slacking off," explains Dr Sander, who works on the land of the Yugambeh Language Region.

"If we have environments that are focused on results rather than face [to face] time, that helps."

Professor Orr says workplace relationships have traditionally been based around employers having control, "but ongoingly, it has to be a relationship of trust and confidence".

"If you're meant to be working from home, and you've ticked off the ergonomic chairs and so on, but then you end up going and working from a holiday environment, then you may be breaching that trust with your employer," he says.

Dr French adds that "both sides need to get the balance right".

This article contains general information only. You should obtain specific, independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances and issues.