Melbourne trails well behind the rest of the nation in getting employees back into the CBD after the Covid lockdowns, with less than 40% of available office space rented in July.
According to a Property Council Australia survey, the city’s office occupancy rate decreased by 11 points last month, from 49 to 38%, owing to a temporary flare-up of the newest Covid strain, leading employees to revert to work-from-home mode. According to the research, Melbourne has the lowest occupancy rates of any state capital.
The shortage of office workers is having a disastrous effect on downtown stores and cafes, prompting demands for Andrews’ administration to get public officials back into the offices now that the number of Covid cases is decreasing.
The government is urging employees to return to work at least three days a week, but few think this is occurring in the CBD’s deathly silence.
Critics see the leasing figures as a “wake-up call,” saying that “we can’t take our foot off the pedal when it comes to CBD recovery.”
The study comes as most other cities in the nation saw a drop in workplace occupancy rates in July, but not as much as Melbourne.
Sydney’s occupancy rate fell from 55% to 52%, Brisbane from 64% to 53%, and Adelaide from 71% to 64%.
According to the research, Canberra and Perth were the only areas where office occupancy increased, from 53 to 61 percent and 65 to 71 percent, respectively.
However, it is a significant setback for Melbourne, with the Council urging the city to cease its “winter slumber.”
According to Adina Cirson, Acting Victorian Executive Director of the Property Council, these figures are the result of a “perfect storm” of deterrents to businesses resuming operations in the city, including the hysteria over COVID-19, a bad influenza season caused by Covid lockdowns causing less robust immune responses, and the chilly Melbourne weather. ‘While Melbourne has seen steady rise in office occupancy figures in the first half of the year, it’s evident that there are significant hurdles ahead in terms of attracting employees back into the city,’ Ms Cirson said.
She said that the state government’s work-from-home rules were also impediments.
‘Government advise on working from home, particularly internal regulations for public sector colleagues, has substantially hampered any impetus for a greater return to the office,’ said Ms Cirson.
‘These figures should serve as a wake-up message to our policymakers and business leaders that we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to CBD recovery,’ says the report.
She also said that ‘strong messaging’ should be used to entice people to return to the workplace as soon as health advice permits.
The Victorian government was asked for comment by the Daily Mail Australia.