The Property Council of Australia’s latest Office Occupancy Survey found Melbourne reached 15 per cent occupancy, compared to a record low of just 4 per cent in January.The survey, from Australia’s peak property and construction industry body, was completed in the same week the state government flagged an easing of work from home restrictions in late February. “We expect to see a positive boost in numbers in March after the Victorian government took the important step towards our city’s recovery by removing the mask mandate and the encouragement for people to work from home,” Property Council Victorian Executive Director Danni Hunter said.“Businesses and their people are now able to take proactive action to return to the office, allowing more Victorians to come back together in person.”However, Melbourne lags behind other capital cities which saw more workers return to the office over February. Perth’s CBD recorded 55 per cent occupancy, followed by Brisbane (41 per cent), Canberra (21 per cent) and Sydney (18 per cent).Before the pandemic, more than half a million people travelled to Melbourne’s CBD for work each day.The Property Council of Australia has called on leaders across the political and business community to continue to push for workers to return to the office.“It is crucial to step up and give confidence to people that returning to the office will have huge benefits for their career, mental health and interpersonal connections, and will give our state’s continued economic recovery a big boost along the way,” Ms Hunter said.Last Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews said just 60 per cent of workers were likely to return to the city after the Covid-19 pandemic as people’s lives had changed.“I think there are some changes that are going to be quite permanent; if not, they’ll certainly linger for a while,” Mr Andrews said.Those remarks drew backlash from business groups who accused Mr Andrews of giving up on a visible back-to-work plan.
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