Time to revitalise CBD

GEELONG workplaces are being encouraged to support the CBD’s COVID-19 recovery as more employees transition back into city offices.

The state government last month removed its 75 per cent cap on private and public office workers coming in.

But Geelong Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ben Flynn said he expected many businesses to retain a staged approach.

“We encourage those businesses to get workers back to the CBD,” Mr Flynn said. “I think there’s a long way to go to get it to the level of traffic we saw pre-COVID, particularly lunchtime traffic.”

City of Greater Geelong director of strategy, people and performance Kaarina Phyland said the city had moved to a workplace model which combined office-based work and flexible arrangements for staff.

“City employees have continued to return to the office, since the return to office-based work was announced in early February,” she said.

“Daily attendance varies across departments and teams, depending on the requirements of the role and the needs of the community.

“Our community is at the centre of the work we do and we remain firmly focused on our role in leading the region’s COVID-19 recovery and continuously improving our customer service.”

A revised flexible work policy for the Victorian Public Service was released in March.

The default starting position was three days a week in the office for full-time officebased VPS employees.

The state government said that would be flexible and subject to relevant directions from the Chief Health Officer. Transport Accident Commission head of people and culture Jane Barker said the TAC headquarters in Geelong was now available for all 1200 staff.

“As we are opening more desks for use across the building, we are seeing more staff take up the opportunity to come back into the office and collaborate in person,” she said.

Ms Barker said there was a desk-booking system in place.

“Like other VPS agencies, we have taken this opportunity to remodel how we work to best serve our clients and the

Victorian community,” Ms Barker said.

“While we’re encouraging staff to be increasingly present in the office, we allow people to work flexibly where they need to.”

A WorkSafe spokesman said the organisation would follow government directions about density and capacity as more team members returned to its 1 Malop Street office.

“On average, the number of returning staff has increased 10 per cent each week, for a daily high of 350 and we look forward to welcoming more team members back in the coming weeks,” the spokesman said.

A National Disability Insurance Agency spokeswoman said the NDIA established flexible working arrangements to support staff working from home, in line with state and Department of Health guidelines. “Victorian-based staff are returning to offices, in line with those guidelines,” she said.

“The NDIA seeks to provide a flexible and productive environment for all staff, which includes providing the opportunity to request access to working-from-home arrangements.”