By Esther Linder in Canberra

Staff who drafted rules governing employees’ right to disconnect may be working remotely, but their boss insists they are “wired into the matrix”.

The head of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations used a rare public appearance to shoot down a newspaper story.

Natalie James rejected claims in an article by The Australian that more than 70 per cent of her staff “disconnected from the office” in 2023.

The department boss clarified that as of December 31, 2023, one-third of staff at her department regularly worked from home for an average of two days per week.

In total, 1298 employees have a working from home arrangement.

“I’m proud of the flexible working arrangements we have in my department,” Ms James told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.

“To suggest that my people are disconnected from the office when they are working from home could not be further from the truth.

“They are the opposite of disconnected. They are about as wired into the matrix as you possibly could be.”

Ms James said she contacted the newspaper to correct its reporting, which included people who worked from home sporadically to inflate the figure.

Her department was responsible for drafting “right to disconnect” laws that cleared parliament this week.

Under the workplace reforms, employees have the right to ignore unreasonable calls and emails outside of their rostered shifts.

The right to disconnect was part of a broader package of measures including greater protections for gig workers and pathways for casual employees to transition into full-time roles.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke in support of the changes, saying: “As technology and the nature of work has changed, legislation must change with it.”

Employment Minister Tony Burke said the argument was ultimately about being paid for doing work.

“People want to know that they’ve got the right to be able to just say, ‘That email can wait till I get back to work’,” he said.

The coalition has criticised the workplace laws and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised to unwind the changes if he wins the next election.

That promise from Mr Dutton, a former detective, has attracted the ire of the national police union which insists its members deserve the right to unplug and unwind after work.