The Australian Government is staging a National Telework Week in November this year to encourage increased uptake  of telework, utilising the capabilities of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

 

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said an increase in telework could lead to benefits across the economy and community, from big business through to individual workers and families as well as the environment.

 

"These benefits include cost-savings and productivity gains, increased workforce flexibility, expanded supply of skilled labour, reduced impact on the environment, reduced stress from traffic congestion and increased time available to spend with family and the community.

 

"For our next generation of employers and workers, IT connectivity will need to be seamless to allow work from any location, be it at home, in the office or at their local cafe.

 

"The rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) is the game changer that will make this an everyday reality for Australians wherever they live."

 

National Telework Week will be convened by the Australian Government in partnership with a range of organisations and its purpose will be to encourage as many employers and employees as possible to trial teleworking.

 

Senator Conroy said the NBN would also assist in increasing Australia’s level of telework.

 

"The NBN will allow Australians to interact more easily from home with their workplaces and with clients through high-definition multi-party video conferencing. They will be able to quickly transfer large files and use real-time collaborative business tools," he said.

 

"Australia currently lags well behind the leading nations for telework rates and the Government, in our Digital Economy Strategy, has set a goal to double Australia’s telework rate by 2020.

 

"Cultural barriers by employees and employers are some of the factors contributing to our poor telework rates, so it is important to address those through education and awareness of telework’s benefits."

 

Initial partners in National Telework Week include the Australian Human Resources Institute, Australian Industry Group (AIG), Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the Australian Network for Disability and the Local Government Managers Australia. Cisco, the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Unity4, Telstra, BlackBerry, Polycom, Infrastructure Australia and the Green Building Council of Australia have also agreed to become partners.

 

Registrants will receive regular updates on preparations for National Telework Week which will also be posted to the website LinkedIn (search for Telework2020). Discussion on Twitter will use the hashtag #telework2020.

 

Organisations interested in partnering with the Australian Government to promote telework are encouraged to make contact via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information on telework visit www.nbn.gov.au/telework.