Planning the home office

The home office has become a common trend in new homes and renovations as home owners look to get more out of their homes and to provide for a potential change in their employment status, which enables them to work from home or telework. The success in creating a productive and pleasant legal home office is in the planning and design, according to Archicentre. Archicentre’s David Hallett said many design concepts for new homes and renovations incorporated a home office/study area. The Federal Government has forecast plans to want 12 per cent of public servants to regularly work from home by 2020, in a bid to lift productivity and reduce costs. The rapid growth of the internet is fuelling the increase in home offices. Mr Hallett said for many people the home office is the perfect solution as it removes much of the overhead cost of starting a new business and allows small business operators to develop a network without immediate financial pressures. ‘‘Anyone purchasing a property for a home office should have a clear understanding of their requirements and whether the property can be used for the type of business they are intending to conduct,’’ he said. Mr Hallett said one of the vital aspects of buying a home with the intention of setting up a home-based business was to check with the local council in relation to planning requirements. It is too late to check the development controls once the contract of sale is signed. Mr Hallett said people buying a home with the intention of setting up an office needed to consider many factors which could influence the successful operation of the office, including:

Have you checked with the local council regarding planning laws in relation to your future business activities?

Make sure you have appropriate insurance to cover people visiting your home and any business equipment in the new home office.

Can there be a separate entry to the office area to which clients come?

Location and visibility from the street may be important for your business.

The provision of communications for the premises including NBN broadband cable facilities for internet access or wireless access.

Is the chosen area of adequate size for the type of work you will carry out? Space needs are important, as the choice of an inadequate space will ultimately lead to disruption of the business and added cost.

When planning the office, consider the storage needs of the business, not just for the client’s files and reference material but also the equipment.

Consider the space and facilities also in terms of any support staff you may require.

Is there adequate light and ventilation? Because people will spend a considerable amount of time in the home office it is important the area has adequate lighting and ventilation.

Have you chosen the quietest area to work? In choosing an area in the home or on the property the consideration of noise is vital, including domestic noise and any exterior noise sources.

Do you have adequate parking for the people who may visit your home office? Will your business activity disturb neighbours?