Property Council: Only 63 per cent of Brisbane CBD office workers are back at the workplace

The Brisbane CBD is still a long way from post-COVID recovery with the office occupancy rate one of the lowest in Australia. SEE THE LATEST DATA

The Brisbane CBD remains a long way from recovery with only two thirds of employees back in the office in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the latest Property Council figures 63 per cent of the CBD is occupied.

While the smaller local companies are returning to normal multinational companies with offices in Brisbane the CBD’s largest tenants such as the State Government, Telstra, BHP, Rio-Tinto and the major banks are grappling with workplace policy.

According to the Property Council pre-COVID the Brisbane CBD offices were was 87 per cent occupied and in July plunged to 43 per cent growing to 52 per cent in September, 61 per cent in October and November and 63 per cent in January.

Behind Melbourne and Sydney, Brisbane has the third lowest occupancy rate among Australian capital CBDs.

JLL head of leasing Queensland James Montague the workplace has returned to normal for most smaller local companies.

“For the most part the locally owned businesses are more or less back,” he said.

“However, workplace policy is on the agenda for all business. They’re looking at it. They’re all trying to understand what it means and they’re looking at putting in place strategies for 2021.”

Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said Australia had a long way to go to get back to pre-COVID levels.

“Increased CBD occupancy is a godsend for the thousands of businesses that rely on bustling city centres to survive,” he said.

Mr Morrison said that building owners and managers have been working tirelessly to ensure workplaces are COVID-safe to support tenant businesses and their employees in returning to full productivity.

“There’s now a growing impetus for people to come back to their workplaces as public health restrictions are scaled down,” Mr Morrison said.

“The mission for policymakers, employers, and the property industry over the coming months will be to maintain momentum and ensure our CBDs return to full activity as quickly