Canberra office occupancy rates return to pre-Omicron levels, Property Council of Australia report finds

But the head of the council's ACT branch said she was "a bit disappointed" by the figures.

The report presents office occupancy data as a percentage of the pre-COVID rate of occupancy, estimated to be 90 per cent. Canberra's occupancy rates reached 21 per cent in February, up from just 7 per cent in January.

Adina Cirson, the council's ACT executive director, said she expected more of an increase in February.

"Anecdotally, what I'm seeing around the city as I go to the office is the coffee queues are getting a bit longer every morning and just chatting to some local business owners, there does seem to be a bit of a pick-up this week," she said.

"So I think the March figures are probably going to be a little bit stronger than what the February figures are."

Canberra recorded the highest level of occupancy since July 2021, when 72 per cent of workers were in the office.

As the ACT went into lockdown in August, office occupancy rates plunged to just 8 per cent.

By November, workers had begun returning to the office again and occupancy rates hit 17 per cent before the Omicron wave arrived in Canberra.

"Occupancy really bottomed out in January because of the Omicron wave and holidays, so it's heartening to see such a significant turnaround just one month later," Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said.

"There is still a long way to go and there are local factors affecting each city, but these figures are a strong start which we expect to accelerate in March, as more businesses reopen their offices."

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The council has launched a series of campaigns across capital cities to encourage more workers back to their CBDs. In Sydney, a four-week awareness campaign has kicked off, while Brisbane workers will be enticed with $40,000 worth of prizes.

Ms Cirson said for Canberra, the focus will be on working closely with the government to attract more people back to the office.

"We're really trying to think innovatively about how we encourage people to back into the CBD and for Canberra, the town centres. It's not just about the city centre for us, there are plenty of offices in Woden, Belconnen and Gungahlin, and we would really like to see more people back into those office spaces as well," she said.

"I just strongly encourage everyone to adapt to the hybrid model of working, but what we need to see is more people in the office, more days than they're at home.

"That's the quickest way we can get back on track, help the economy recover, but most importantly ensure small business survives what is the the hangover effect of COVID."

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