Australian government orders civil servants to stop working remotely after media campaign against the measure

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The government of Australia’s most populous state has ordered all public sector employees to work from their offices by default from Tuesday and called for stricter limits on remote working, after media reports sparked a heated debate over home working habits established during the pandemic.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said: in a notice to agencies On Monday, he said jobs could be made more flexible in ways other than remote work, such as part-time positions and role sharing, and that “building and replenishing public institutions” required “being physically present”. His remarks were welcomed by business and property groups in the state’s largest city, Sydney, who have decried falling office occupancy rates since 2020, but denounced by unions, who have vowed to challenge the initiative if it is invoked unnecessarily.

The directive makes the state government, Australia’s largest employer with more than 400,000 workers, the latest in a growing number of companies and institutions around the world trying to roll back remote working arrangements put in place as the coronavirus spreads. But it runs counter to the embrace of remote working by governments in some other Australian states, some analysts said, suggesting lobbying by a major newspaper was behind the move.

“It appears that the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sydney Daily Telegraph has tried to convince the New South Wales government to force employees back into the office,” said Chris F. Wright, associate professor of labor science at the University of Sydney. The newspaper cited the potential economic benefits for struggling businesses.

The newspaper written Tuesday that the prime minister’s decision to “end the era of working from home” followed his urgings, although Minns did not cite it as a factor.

But the union representing civil servants said there was little evidence of that change and warned the state government could struggle to fill positions.

“Across the NSW public sector, we’re trying to retain people,” said Stewart Little, general secretary of the Public Service Association. “In some key agencies like child protection, we’re seeing a 20 per cent vacancy rate, which is hundreds of jobs.”

Little added that government offices have shrunk since 2020 and agencies would not be able to physically accommodate all employees on-site. said the state would lease more spaceaccording to the Daily Telegraph.

The move is a “sea change” for struggling inner-city businesses, said Katie Stevenson, executive director of the Australian Property Council’s New South Wales branch. “More workers means more lives, more investment and more activity for our cities.”

Agencies can develop their own policies, the order adds, but must ensure that employees “spread their presence across all days of the workweek.” Requests to telework on certain occasions must be formally approved for a limited period only and the reasons for the request must be provided, the directive says.

Workplace culture and mentoring opportunities will improve, Minns said, echoing other business leaders around the world who question the productivity of remote workers. Most public sector employees, such as teachers and nurses, wouldn’t be able to work from home anyway, he added.

The move sets New South Wales apart from other Australian states, one of which sought to capitalize on the move on Tuesday. A spokesman for Jacinta Allan, the premier of neighboring Victoria, told reporters that the state’s telework allowances would remain unchanged and that disgruntled New South Wales public servants should consider moving there.

Wright said the change not only reversed increased flexibility during the pandemic, but also erased a decade of Australian federal government measures encouraging remote working to reduce barriers to labour market participation, cut carbon emissions and ease traffic congestion.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been broadly supportive of remote working. His government will enact a “right to disconnect” law later this month, which will allow employees to opt out of work-related communications outside of agreed-upon hours.