Melbourne office occupancy lags nation
The number of Melbourne CBD office workers has doubled since late last year but lags the country in relative terms.
The Property Council of Australia Office Occupancy Survey said 31 per cent of workplaces are now being used.
This compares with 13pc two months ago and seven pc in October.
The industry body cites Victoria’s extended lockdown and prolonged work-from-home orders – often implemented by private companies – as reasons for the high vacancy.
“Office occupancies are calculated on whether a tenant’s employees are occupying the space or working from home, not whether a lease is in place,” the PCA said of the research (story continues below).
Sydney CBD workplaces are presently 45pc full.
“All other capital cities…enjoy occupancy levels greater than 60pc,” according to the group.
“Only a small percentage of survey respondents consider that workplace safety concerns are contributing to lower occupancy levels, whereas over 20pc consider public transport safety and capacity concerns to be influencing occupancy and nearly 40pc cite changed workplace preferences,” it added.
“Over 50pc of survey respondents think that it will take more than three months to see a material increase in occupancy levels,” the PCA said.
