Victorian public servants to be forced back to CBD offices under new rules
After months of working from home, public servants will be forced to come back to their offices — but many doubt the move will save the CBD.
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Public servants will be forced to return to their main office at least three days a week, with five new alternative work hubs to be built in Melbourne’s suburbs.
The Herald Sun can reveal the state will release a new flexible work policy as it negotiates how the public service will function post-pandemic.
Public servants will be notified as early as Tuesday morning they will be expected to return to their “primary office” at least three days a week, with cabinet believed to have signed off the decision and changes likely to come into effect by Monday.
The government will move quickly to enforce the three-day rule as soon as the chief health officer updates his health directions — tipped to be within the week.
Victoria will reach 28 consecutive days without a local COVID-19 case on Friday, which is the length of two life cycles of the virus.
Public officials are understood to be seriously considering lifting the 75 per cent capacity cap on workplaces in favour of new density quotas similar to pubs and clubs.
About 34 per cent of public servants have returned to the office and the rules are expected to ensure at least 90,000 weekly shifts will be within the City of Melbourne.
The move will be welcomed by struggling traders but will also attract controversy from business groups who believe more is needed to revive central Melbourne’s economy.
The state government will spend $20m to set up five suburban public service hubs across the city, including in Mulgrave, Williams Landing and the western suburbs, as a “flexible” alternative.
Public servants will be expected to spend three days at their main office, with authorities hoping to balance the CBD’s future with recent economic benefits to local communities. Individual workers will still be able to negotiate their own arrangements in line with existing enterprise agreements.
The state government guidance to workers would be to spend three days in the office as a starting point, a spokesman for public sector union the CPSU said.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said a boost to numbers in the city was a welcome change but it would not go back to the way it was pre-pandemic.
“The more people who come back into the office, the better the CBD will be,’’ he said. “We’re in a different world now. We know some parts of last year actually worked, and we should capture those.’’
Roy Morgan research revealed people movements in the CBD earlier this month reached 39 per cent of pre-COVID levels, the highest since before Melbourne’s 112-day second lockdown in July.
Last week Federal Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said the Victorian government should order public servants back to work.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said getting state public servants back would provide another clear signal it was safe to return to city workplaces.
“Every worker that returns to the city delivers real benefits for local businesses,” she said.
“Pre-COVID, city workers made up about half of the daily population in the city and so many cafes, restaurants and retailers depend on … a thriving CBD filled with people.’’
Kylie Gauvin, a public servant with the Department of Education and Training, said she enjoyed returning to the office. “It’s been great chatting to colleagues and being able to test ideas out with them again in person — you just don’t get the opportunity to have those incidental conversations … working from home,” she said.
“My daughter started Prep this year and having the ability to work flexibly to do drop-offs on my office days has meant all the difference.”
Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said public servants returning to the city would send a signal to the private sector.
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