Victoria’s pitch as ‘work from home’ government as NSW public servants ordered back to office

Victorian Labor will pitch itself as a ‘work from home’ government to thousands of NSW public servants after their ALP Premier, Chris Minns, demanded they get back into the office and end the productivity drain.

The Victorian government will make a pitch to NSW's public servants after Chris Minns delivered an edict ending working from home on Monday.

Victorian Labor will pitch itself as a “work from home” government to thousands of NSW public servants after their ALP Premier, Chris Minns, demanded they get back into the office and end the productivity drain.

While businesses across the country have been inspired by Mr Minns’s move and urged their governments to do the same, ­Jacinta Allan’s government in Victoria said it had “no plan to roll back existing flexible working ­arrangements”.

Mr Minns on Monday vowed to end working-from-home flexibility across the NSW government, which could begin as soon as Tuesday, depending on each department’s policies.

An email from the secretary of the NSW Premier’s Department, Simon Draper, sent to all government departments on Monday, said employees were expected to fully use office accommodation “across the whole working week”.

The “starting position”, Mr Draper said, was that “government-sector employees should work principally in an approved office, workplace or related work site”. Individual agencies will still need to “develop their own policies to implement this circular and progressively implement these changes”.

Business groups such as Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association, Business Western Sydney and Business Sydney praised the move, while the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the Allan government to follow suit due to the “clear economic benefit to the city economy”.

Empty chairs and tables can be seen across Sydney's CBD during weekday lunchtimes. Photo: Tom Parrish

But the Victorian government said it would not make any changes to its flexible work policy, which requires government ­employees to be in the office three days a week.

“We know that flexibility in the workplace helps more women stay in work and more women in the workforce is better for everyone,” a spokesman said.

“Any public servants from NSW who like flexibility in their workplace should consider moving to Victoria.”

The NSW government did not go so far as to mandate “a particular pattern of attendance” and said flexibility would continue through job-shares, compressed hours, and variations to starting and finishing times.

The government acknowledged there would be “mixed views” about the announcement.

“Regardless of your own circumstances, I ask that everyone work with their colleagues and agency leaders to adjust, just as we did when working from home was suddenly mandated four years ago,” Mr Draper wrote.

Businesses in the Sydney CBD have pushed for an end to working from home, with office ­attendance rates still affecting trade midweek. Mr Draper ­acknowledged that the NSW public sector was the largest workforce in the country and said the government sector had “a higher purpose in building and replenishing public institutions”.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra encouraged Ms Allan “to follow the lead from NSW”. “We encourage the state government to follow,” he said. “There are real benefits for people when they work together in an ­office environment. There is greater productivity, innovation and economic uplift. On top of that, there is clear economic benefit to the city economy.”

The Queensland government said it would not alter its existing flexible arrangements, which were at the discretion of each department, but said it “encourages Queensland public servants to work from the office wherever possible”.

Sydney’s business lobbies welcomed the news. Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said it showed “great leadership by the Premier”.

“Employers are telling Business Sydney we have to get really serious about getting the CBD back to its pre-Covid footing,” he said. “Governments and their departments have an opportunity and responsibility to help set the benchmark by having their workers back at their desks for three to four days a week.”

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said Mondays and Fridays were still quiet in Parramatta and that “while flexibility is fine, it can go too far”. Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert said many restaurants and cafes in Sydney’s CBD rely on five-day-a-week demand and the announcement would help “the industry not fall victim to Creditor Watch predictions that one in 11 hospitality businesses will close in the next 12 months”.

However, Public Service ­Association general secretary Stewart Little said the union would help employees fight the new arrangements.

“The PSA has always fought for flexible working arrangements. This includes, where ­possible, working from home for those whose roles do not rely on them attending a specific site,” Mr Little said.