The federal government is facing calls for a consistent approach to working from home across the public service, as some agencies tell staff to avoid office buildings while COVID case numbers rise.
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Public Service Minister Ben Morton has said there has been no bureaucracy-wide directions about work-from-home arrangements, after state and territory governments urged people to avoid office buildings during the Omicron outbreak.
Some agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office, the Agriculture Department and the Education Department, are telling staff to work from home where practical as the Omicron variant surges. The Home Affairs Department completed its return-to-office plans in NSW and Victoria on Tuesday, but last night told staff it will move to work-from-home arrangements for staff not performing critical functions as of Thursday.
Mr Morton on Wednesday said the nation had not yet seen the end of default work-from-home arrangements, after saying in November the government looked forward to them being "a thing of the past".
"Increasingly, we're not at that point yet, with new variants, and we need to continue to respond to new variants," he said.
Mr Morton said neither he nor the public service commission had issued bureaucracy-wide directions about working from home, and that agencies would follow the advice of state and territory governments in managing COVID risk.
There needs to be consistency across agencies, that you can work from home if you're able to do your work at home.
- Michael Tull
"It's always been the advice from myself and the public service commission that we do need to take into account the relevant state and territory advice because the situation is different all around the country," he said.
Mr Morton in November said returning to offices was a strong expectation of the federal government for all agencies. He said yesterday the government had reacted positively to the ACT government decision that month to bring forward the easing of COVID restrictions.
"And in the same way, we expect the public service to adapt and to respond to the easing of restrictions, we expect them also to adapt to the evolving health situation that we're dealing with," Mr Morton said.
The main public sector union called for a consistent and responsible approach to working from home, saying the government should keep its public sector workers safe.
Community and Public Sector Union acting national secretary Michael Tull said it was not acceptable for any department or agency to rush ahead with return-to-office plans.
"There needs to be consistency across agencies, that you can work from home if you're able to do your work at home," he said.
"We don't have to make a choice between working from home and being safe - the last two years have shown that many, many roles can be done effectively and productively at home."
The Home Affairs Department on New Year's Eve told staff that no state or territory had included working from home arrangements as part of their public health orders.
"As such, staff should continue to attend the workplace according to their usual working arrangements," it said in an email to employees.
"The department will continue to monitor all public health orders and update our communications if anything changes. Staff in Victoria and NSW are still expected to complete their return to work transition on January 4, 2022."
However the Home Affairs Department changed course on Wednesday, telling staff that NSW, Victoria, South Australia, ACT and Queensland employees would work from home until at least January 31 to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.
"These measures will ensure continuity of business, staff physical safety and mental wellbeing, so the department and Australian Border Force can continue to deliver its critical functions," Home Affairs said in an email to staff.
"All staff in these jurisdictions should work from home unless they are performing critical functions that cannot be performed from home.
"The majority of ABF officers are continuing to meet operational requirements, including attending usual places of work, with additional considerations for the current COVID context.
"The intent is to maintain usual working arrangements for ABF officers, balanced with flexible measures to ensure business continuity and their ongoing safety and welfare."
Staff in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Western Australia would continue working in office buildings, as their state and territory governments had not recommended staff should work from home, the department said.
"Should health advice within these jurisdictions be updated to encourage individuals to work from home, further advice will be provided for these staff."
A department spokesperson on Tuesday said it would "monitor" its position to ensure business continuity and staff safety, and that it had implemented measures to minimise COVID risk in the workplace.
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Services Australia spokesman Hank Jongen said the agency followed guidance provided by state and territory health authorities to inform its COVID safety measures in workplaces.
"As we've seen throughout this pandemic, circumstances can change rapidly, and we continue to closely monitor staff welfare and respond quickly to any updates in official health advice," he said.
ATO staff at all sites except Perth were told on Monday to work from home where possible, unless they were in a critical role that must be done from the office or had extenuating circumstances.
Chief operating officer Jacqui Curtis said staff in Perth who were fully vaccinated can continue to work from the office if preferred.
The arrangements started on Tuesday and are due to end on January 28.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has encouraged staff to work from home where practical. Two staff have contracted COVID while on the job for the department, but they were not infected while in the department's office buildings.
A spokesperson said the department had received reports of positive cases attending the office following community transmission.
"To date the department is aware of five ACT staff who may have been identified as close contacts by public health units following attendance of these positive cases in our buildings," the spokesperson said.
"Our staff who have been close contacts have followed the advice of public health units at the time to get tested and isolate. None of these people have returned positive results to date."
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has advised staff to work from home when possible for the first two weeks of January.
State and territory governments in the ACT, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia have urged employees to work from home as COVID cases surge.
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