The Canberra Times surveyed the 16 government departments, as well as Services Australia and the Australian Taxation Office, and found 10 had implemented some form of flexible seating in their Canberra offices.

Six of those had introduced hotdesking, though fixed seating could be requested. A further four had some degree of flexible seating in place in their offices.

While eight agencies said they didn't hotdesk, two of those planned to introduce it when they moved to new offices in the next three years.

But the ACT Property Council has warned against slashing desk space without supplementing it.

Acting ACT executive director Ross Grove said flexible seating, though it has benefits, can cause problems where larger organisations seek to shift "the burden of office accommodation onto the home offices of individual employees".

"The traditional workplace offers many advantages providing space for communication, informal mentoring and collaboration," Mr Grove said.

"Not every cost reduction is a productivity gain.

"So it's important that wise employers take a balanced approach to getting the most from their office asset while supporting the people they work with."

Canberra's office occupancy fell to the lowest in the country in November, at 52 per cent, and many public sector agencies have greenlit hybrid work for their staff.

The Community and Public Sector Union plans to call for these arrangements to be formalised, in sector-wide bargaining on pay and conditions.

This could include pushing to remove caps on the number of days staff can work from home.

Flexible arrangements within the public service tend to include a desk booking system, as well as the provision of lockers.

Teams are grouped together but don't have assigned desks, though staff can request one, and in some cases, those who work full-time from the office retain a fixed desk.

Regional investment manager for ISPT Zoe Ferrari said the public sector is following in the footsteps of private businesses.

ISPT owns nine Canberra office buildings occupied by public sector tenants.

"I think the public service tenants are catching up very quickly in their adaptation of the flexible working environments," she said.

"Probably now more than ever we're starting to see that gap really narrow between your private and your public sectors and the way in which they're fitting out and adopting their workspaces."

READ MORE PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS:

The property investor has just completed a new fit-out at 18 Marcus Clarke Street, where two levels occupied by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority will not have enough capacity for all of the regulator's staff.

Instead, an "agile, flexible seating model" will be introduced.

Falling office occupancy levels following the coronavirus pandemic have opened the door for savings.

Removing fixed seating cuts costs for tenants, who are able to lease less floorspace.

"Really successful, flexible work environments [are] actually not just taking space away," Ms Ferrari said.

"It's also about what they can add back in terms of collaboration and quiet zones, and different choices of different areas to work, because everyone works so differently."

Several agencies have indicated their fit-outs allow different workspaces for their employees.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Aged Care said, "Offering a variety of work settings allows our people to find a space that best suits the type of work they need to do - whether it be collaborating with a team (in person or virtually), or focused, solo work."

The Department of Home Affairs also has quiet zones for its staff.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts said it has internal guidelines that promote "best-practice desk sharing".

"Including to ensure appropriate consultation, connectivity, cleaning and security," a spokesperson said.

Of the eight agencies that do not have hotdesking arrangements, two indicated they would make the switch eventually.

The Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said they would shift away from allocated seating when they move to new offices in Canberra's city in 2025 and 2026, following staff consultation.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.