The ACT government should commission a report into the effectiveness of working from home and develop a plan to increase spending in the city and town centres, an inquiry report has recommended.
The territory's public service has adopted flexible working arrangements following the COVID-19 lockdowns, with Chief Minister Andrew Barr previously declaring the old era of 9-to-5 office work was over.
Mr Barr said flexible arrangements were a key way to attract and retain quality staff.
The Chief Minister was questioned about the government's policy in annual report hearings earlier this year and the flow-on effect this would have to businesses in the CBD and town centres.
He said the ACT government was not a major driver of aggregate demand in these areas.
"Obviously, there are a range of other factors that determine the total level of aggregate demand in the economy and spend in the CBD. We do have to imagine our CBD beyond just nine to five, Monday to Friday. That is the government's intent," Mr Barr told the hearing in February.
"Clearly, there are a number of factors that impact on aggregate demand in terms of the total level of economic activity in the CBD. The ACT government is not a major driver of it."
The Legislative Assembly's standing committee on economy and gender and economic equality delivered its report into the inquiry on Tuesday.
The committee recommended the government should develop a plan to increase demand and report the plan to the ACT Legislative Assembly by the final sitting week of 2022.
It was also recommended that the government should commission an independent report into the impacts of working from home and flexible working arrangements, with a focus on productivity, internal and external impacts, workplace culture, recruitment and its consequences.
The ACT government has also flagged investment in office space across the city, so its staff can work closer to home rather than in a directorate's central location.
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