Victoria was ranked dead last, yet a $60b tech giant just made Melbourne its fastest-growing hub

Victoria may rank as the worst state in Australia to do business, but Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes says that criticism hasn’t featured in his company’s decision to dramatically expand its Melbourne presence.

The $60 billion software giant has grown from near-zero Victorian employees before the COVID pandemic to 650 today, making Melbourne one of the company’s fastest-growing cities globally alongside Seattle and Bangalore.

Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes in the company’s new Melbourne office.

Atlassian on Thursday cut the ribbon on its first permanent Melbourne office on Queen Street, a vote of confidence in a state that has faced sustained criticism for being unfriendly, if not downright hostile, to business investment.

“It’s a testament to the progress we’ve made in this part of the world,” Cannon-Brookes told this masthead. “Why is that? Because of the talent. There’s lots of talent here.”

The expansion comes despite the Business Council of Australia ranking Victoria last among all states and territories for doing business in its Regulation Rumble 2025 report for the second consecutive year. The BCA cited uncompetitive payroll tax rates, the nation’s highest land tax for foreign owners, and onerous licensing requirements.

Asked about the perception that Victoria is a poor place to invest, Cannon-Brookes was dismissive.

Atlassian’s new Melbourne office.Credit: Asron Walker Photography

“I’ll leave that for others to have a fight about,” he said. “From our point of view, I don’t think I have heard it as an issue, and I don’t think it’s been a major issue for us. That doesn’t mean it’s not for other people and other industries.”

For Atlassian, which makes collaboration tools used by hundreds of thousands of organisations worldwide, what matters is access to skilled workers.

“In tech, you go to where the talent is. Melbourne and Seattle are growing the fastest of any two Atlassian regions in the world,” Cannon-Brookes said. “That’s why we’re investing in growing those areas. We are very thoughtful about the talent, and that’s more important for us than anything else.”

Premier Jacinta Allan is betting heavily on that tech-sector appetite. In her State of the State address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on Thursday, she unveiled plans to make Victoria the country’s hub for data centres, with a pipeline the government estimates could be worth $25 billion in capital expenditure.

Premier Jacinta Allan.Credit: Christopher Hopkins

The government will spend $5.5 million on a sustainable data centre action plan to determine where facilities should be located, and $8.1 million on “AI career conversion” to retrain workers displaced by the technology.

Allan said AI advancements could add $30 billion to the gross state product over the next decade, while acknowledging a “delicate balancing act” to protect affected workers.

But tension remains between the government and business groups over workplace policy. Allan told the CEDA lunch she would push ahead with legislation to enshrine working from home as a legal right, despite opposition from some businesses.

“I’ve listened to their views. I respect them. I haven’t changed my mind,” she said. “And in the years to come, I think those businesses will change theirs.”

Cannon-Brookes, whose company pioneered remote work through its “Team Anywhere” policy, was lukewarm on the approach.

“I would think that any government mandating work from home seems like an odd thing. Any government mandating working from an office would equally be odd,” he said. “I think it’s probably best if businesses choose.”

About a quarter of Atlassian’s Victorian workforce now comes into an office at least occasionally, and the new 1,848-square-metre Melbourne space is proving popular. Daily occupancy averages around 75 per cent, with early weeks peaking close to 100 per cent.

The executive was candid that competitors abandoning flexible work only helps Atlassian’s recruitment.

“In a purely selfish way, return-to-work mandates are good for us,” he said. “We’d like everyone to do them, except for us.”

He acknowledged remote work isn’t right for every business, however. “I totally get why, if you’re a 10-person start-up, working from home is really hard. Can’t build any culture,” he said.

“It’s most important for a business owner, leadership team, management, whatever, to choose what works for them.”

Atlassian’s Melbourne investment is still modest compared to its flagship project: a 40-storey, $1.4 billion headquarters under construction at Sydney’s Tech Central, set to open in 2026. Could Victoria attract similar investment?

An impression of Atlassian’s planned building, the centrepiece of the city’s new tech hub.

Cannon-Brookes said it was “totally possible” but noted the Sydney project had been a 15-year journey. And Melbourne’s tech scene lacks the density that makes such hubs work.

“All my friends with companies here, all seem to get in a cab and drive somewhere,” he said. “They don’t seem to be close to each other.”

Additional reporting by Kieran Rooney

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