DBCDE plans Telework week to drive NBN demand

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 15 January 2012 10:21

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The Federal Government is to stage a Telework Week in November "to showcase benefits of working from home" and to, hopefully, increase demand for services delivered over the NBN.

Announcing the plan, communications minister, senator Stephen Conroy, said: "The Australian Government wants more employers and employees to reap the many social, economic and environmental benefits of telework'¦An increase in telework can lead to benefits across the economy and community, from big business through to individual workers and families as well as the environment."

He added: "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'¦

"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."

(The Digital Economy Strategy included the goal that, by 2020, Australia would have at least doubled its level of teleworking so that at least 12 percent of Australian employees had a teleworking arrangement with their employers.)

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

Organisations interested in becoming partners are encouraged to make contact via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More details at www.nbn.gov.au/telework. There is also a LinkedIn group, (Telework2020) and a Twitter hashtag (#telework2020).