4 days ago
Working from home now a ‘permanent' feature across Australia
The true impact of the rise in remote work across Australia has been revealed, proving this type of flexibility is now a 'permanent' fixture of the country's workplace landscape.
Extensive new data released by market research agency, Roy Morgan, has found a whopping 6.7 million people in Australia work from home at least some of the time.
This figure represents 46 per cent of employed Australians, with the number of people working remotely at least partially rising to 51 per cent for full-time employees.
Roy Morgan interviewed 41,449 employed Australians between July 2024 and June 2025 to uncover just how entrenched flexible working has become.
CEO Michele Levine said the new findings 'clearly show that 'work-from-home' arrangements have become a permanent and distinct feature of Australia's employment sector'.
Uptake is the strongest in capital cities and is more common in industries where the majority of work is desk based, such as finance, communication and public administration.
'Across Australia's largest cities, 60 per cent of people who work in the CBDs 'work from home' at least some of the time, with Sydney CBD leading at nearly 70 per cent of workers,' she said.
'Melbourne CBD and Canberra CBD follow closely with majorities of 65 per cent and 61 per cent respectively.'
Perth, Adelaide and Darwin are the only capital cities where the majority of workers do not WFH at least some of the time, with figures of those who never work remotely ranging from 51 per cent to 58 per cent.
The research also revealed a 'clear link' between higher incomes and the ability to work from home.
Of those earning under $25,000 a year, just 22 to 30 per cent have the ability to work remotely.
As salaries increase, so does the likelihood being able to WFH, increasing to 33-36 per cent in the $30,000 to $49,999 range, 38 per cent for those earning $50,000 to $59,999 and 42 per cent for those in the $60,000 to $69,999 bracket.
A 'notable shift' occurs once earnings exceed $90,000, with more than half (53 per cent) of people able to work from home.
This increases to 56 to 58 per cent between $100,000 and $149,999 and 61 per cent for $150,000 to $199,999.
'At the highest levels, 'work from home' peaks at 64 per cent for those earning $300,000 or more, with only 36% working entirely in-person,' the report states.
'This trend reflects the nature of different roles: lower-income jobs often require physical presence, while higher-income positions are more likely to involve desk-based, or technology-enabled work that can be performed remotely.
'Overall, the findings highlight income as a strong driver of flexible work access, with remote work heavily concentrated in higher salary brackets.'
Another key factor in determining rates of working from home is workplace size.
Solo workers and self-employed people lead the way with the highest WFH rate at 55 per cent, highlighting the flexibility that comes with working for yourself.
Very small workplaces, with two to four employees, also show a high rate of working from home, with 48 per cent.
However, these figures drops to 38 per cent for workplaces with between five and 24 employees, with the report noting this is likely a reflection of the more hands-on, client-facing or operational nature of the roles in these smaller businesses.
From here, as the workforce grows, so does the rate of flexible working arrangements, with workplaces with between 25 and 299 employees having WFH rates ranging from 42 per cent to 45 per cent.
Once workplaces reach 300 or more employees, this is when the WFH rate is at, or near, a majority of the workforce.
This figure is 49 per cent for workplaces with 300 to 499 employees, places with 500 to 999 staff have a rate of 51 per cent and organisations with 1000 or more employees are hit the 52 per cent mark.
'This pattern highlights a tipping point where larger organisations possess the resources and culture necessary to support 'working from home' on a broader scale,' the report states.
'The data also indicates that while the smallest workplaces (solo workers) enjoy the greatest individual flexibility, it is the largest workplaces that lead majority working from work adoption, demonstrating that workplace size drives working from home in fundamentally different ways.'
Ms Levine said gaining an 'in-depth understanding of the nuances surrounding current work from home trends' will be crucial for businesses, employees and policymakers moving forward.
