‘A stunt': Fears work-from-home plan will empty Melbourne CBD
The city's office vacancy rate remains the highest in the country, though a new Property Council report shows it is stabilising with a slight decrease in empty CBD offices since January.
But there is now widespread fear among the property industry and business groups that Premier Jacinta Allan's plan to give all workers the right to work from home two days a week will reverse the recovery of Melbourne's CBD.
In a message to members on Wednesday, the Property Council's national chief executive, Mike Zorbas, was even more strident in his opposition to the new policy, branding it a 'stunt' designed to distract from the government's mounting debt.
'If only the Victorian premier spent half as much time cracking down on the actual criminals crawling all over Victorian government worksites,' he said.
'If only Treasurer [Jim] Chalmers would lend out the Productivity Commission so it could improve the Victorian cabinet.'
The number of empty offices in Victoria had been increasing since March 2020 before hitting about 18 per cent in 2024. It has remained relatively steady since.
Melbourne has the strongest supply pipeline nationally, with more than 300,000 square metres of new office space planned between 2025 and 2027, with major new projects including 800 Collins, 7 Spencer and 435 Bourke streets.
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