Australia’s major cities contribute around 80 per cent of our GDP. Their CBDs are the engine room for much of this economic activity, supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs.
There are some welcome signs of life now returning to our CBDs, although at different speeds around the country.
But there’s no doubt that many of our bigger CBDs are still much quieter than the pre-COVID period – a situation which will now need to continue for some weeks in Melbourne with Victorians being asked to continue to work from home if they can.
There’s no shortage of naysayers prepared to call the death of the CBD. However, there is abundant evidence of the economic and social benefits of people working together in office environments and the contribution these make to collaboration, innovation and workplace culture.
Restarting our CBDs also matters for all of the businesses and jobs that depend on people spending time in the CBD – cafes, restaurants, retail outlets, arts and entertainment venues, taxis and ride share, public transport, couriers and other service providers.
Where people can return to the CBD for work or leisure, we should be actively encouraging them to do so, safely and with confidence.
Property Council members who own and manage office buildings have been taking proactive steps to deliver COVID-safe environments for their tenants and workforces. We have also been closely engaged with Safe Work Australia on guidelines for office environments, including issues such as lifting and end of trip facilities.
Governments also have a vital role to play such as ensuring that our public transport systems have sufficient capacity to help people return to their CBD offices.
Here at the Property Council we also well on the way to transitioning back to the office. Our teams in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Tasmania are all now back in the office with the appropriate health arrangements in place, including a split team arrangement in Brisbane. Our Sydney team is scheduled to return on 6 July (also on a split team basis), while our Melbourne team is planning on an early August resumption.
Stay tuned for further announcements about the resumption of other traditional Property Council activities.