Qld Health tells staff to ‘hot desk’ in $50m budget-saving move

2 hours ago 4

Queensland Health will aim to shave $50 million from its budget over the next seven years of workforce growth by moving staff in three Brisbane offices onto a new hot-desk arrangement.

The department says the move is aimed at making “smarter use” of existing space at its Charlotte Street, Butterfield Street and O’Connell Terrace sites, rather than due to plans to end any leases.

The state government has promised to bolster the public service ranks by more than 6000 roles this financial year.

Staff – some of whom already have flexible working arrangements that include regular work-from-home days – have recently been informed of the change to a new “desk booking” system.

“Queensland Health is making smarter use of existing office spaces over the coming months which will deliver an estimated $50 million in savings over the next seven years,” a spokesperson said.

“This decision ensures responsible use of taxpayers’ money, and these savings can be reinvested into strengthening our health system to continue to provide the best possible care for Queenslanders.”

The health department’s $33 billion annual budget is the largest portion – about one-third – of state government spending.

While the Crisafulli government froze the number of non-frontline senior public service executives in the budget, it also promised to grow the broader public workforce by more than 6000 roles this financial year.

This year’s state of the sector report into the public service noted the proportion of people working from home increased from 49 per cent to 54 per cent between 2022 and 2024.

The proportion of workers using hot desks also jumped from 5 per cent to 11 per cent in the same period.

In NSW, public service unions have argued against a recent directive to return to mostly office-bound work, noting that if all staff did so on a given day, there would not be enough space.

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