{"id":66480,"date":"2026-08-06T12:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T12:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/66480\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T12:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T12:30:19","slug":"work-from-home-laws-fuelling-melbournes-office-vacancy-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/66480\/","title":{"rendered":"Work from home laws fuelling Melbourne\u2019s office vacancy crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne\u2019s CBD remains the nation\u2019s office vacancy capital, with enough empty space to accommodate almost 83,000 staff as the state government\u2019s work from home laws loom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Property Council figures show almost one in five CBD offices remain empty, with vacancy easing just 0.1 per cent to 18.9 in the six months to July 2026.<\/p>\n

That figure is still well above Sydney\u2019s 13.3 per cent and Brisbane\u2019s 10.2 per cent.<\/p>\n

It leaves more than one million square metres of office space sitting empty in the city \u2013 the equivalent of about 50 MCG ovals.<\/p>\n

At roughly 12sqm per worker, that vacant space could fit 83,000 workers.<\/p>\n

Property Council Victorian executive director Cath Evans said Melbourne\u2019s office recovery remained fragile and warned Labor\u2019s proposed work from home laws were adding to business uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stabilising of office vacancy is welcome, but Melbourne still has Australia\u2019s highest vacancy rate by a long way,\u201d Ms Evans said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hearing from businesses that the proposed work from home legislation is contributing to delays in tenancy decisions and a more cautious approach to future office space requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The figures come as Premier Ben Carroll faces growing pressure to dump the contentious laws <\/a>amid fears they will deter investment in Victoria and force more CBD hospitality venues to close.<\/p>\n

The Herald Sun revealed small businesses could be exempt, with Mr Carroll signalling the government was open to \u201csensible\u201d amendments<\/a> being made in the upper house next week to cater to the concerns of employers.<\/p>\n

The pressure is also building on new Treasurer Colin Brooks, who replaced Jaclyn Symes in Tuesday\u2019s cabinet reshuffle and has promised to rebuild the government\u2019s relationship with the business sector.<\/p>\n

Ms Evans welcomed that pledge, but said it had to be backed by action.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictoria cannot afford more consultation without reform,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses are looking for decisions that improve confidence<\/a>, unlock investment and support economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes as Victoria records the nation\u2019s highest unemployment rate, with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing the jobless rate rose from 4.9 to 5.1 per cent over the past year, the highest level since the state was plunged into its sixth Covid lockdown.<\/p>\n

Business figures put the woeful figures down to Jacinta Allan\u2019s slew of \u201canti-business policies\u201d including legislating the right to work from home two days a week.<\/p>\n

CBRE Victorian executive managing director Jarrod Frazer said the proposed laws had only promoted uncertainty at a time when Melbourne should be pushing harder for growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs foreign capital looks towards Australia as a safe haven for investment, Victoria will continue to fall outside of investor preferences as long as this uncertainty remains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fresh JLL Australia research shows Victoria\u2019s office investment market has slumped since the Allan government doubled the Absentee Owner Surcharge in January 2024.<\/p>\n

Annual office transaction volumes have fallen more than 62 per cent, from a decade average of $3.4bn to $1.28bn, while foreign investors\u2019 share has halved from 47 per cent to about 25 per cent.<\/p>\n

Ms Evans said Mr Brooks needed to remove barriers to investment, starting with the absentee owner surcharge, to help restore Melbourne\u2019s competitiveness and accelerate the recovery of the office market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne\u2019s CBD remains the nation\u2019s office vacancy capital, with enough empty space to accommodate almost 83,000 staff 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