019/05
11 March 2005

New taskforce to help more Australians work from home

More flexible work arrangements and a better work/life balance are set to become a reality for more Australians with the formation of the Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC) announced today by Senator Helen Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Telework refers to activities that contractors and employees perform away from an employer's primary site facilitated by information and communications technology.

"The promise of technology is fulfilled by telework as it helps deliver work to employees rather than employees to work," Senator Coonan said.

Home-based businesses, employers with staff on the road or working from home and regional industries also stand to benefit from the initiative.

"Our geography imposes particular demands on our working lives and the Australian Government recognises a public interest in the accelerated development of telework," Senator Coonan.

"It provides the means for businesses to overcome the 'tyranny of distance' and allow their staff to operate effectively from diverse or remote locations.

" Evidence suggests that telework arrangements can boost an organisation's productivity and reduce operating expenses, contribute to reduced congestion and environmental impacts and provide a more harmonious balance between family and workplace responsibilities for millions of Australian workers."

ATAC will include representation from a wide range of peak industry bodies, large and small business and government agencies. Membership will include Toshiba and the Internet Industry Association, both of which are independently researching telework activities in Australia.

"The formation of ATAC follows an election commitment by the Government to establish a teleworking and home-based business taskforce," Senator Coonan said.

"This is an opportunity for industry and government to foster work and employment practices that may lead to new efficiencies-including better access to potential employees, better deployment of staff and a lessened burden on infrastructure.

"ATAC will advise on options and impediments to the development of telework for employees and businesses by February 2006."

The first ATAC meeting is scheduled for 31 March 2005. More information on the Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC) is attached.

The Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC)

Membership

ATAC will include representatives from the following organisations:

• Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA)
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)
• Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)
• Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO/DoFA)
• Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)
• Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG)
• Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA)
• Department of Family and Community Services (FACS)
• IBM Australia Ltd
• Internet Industry Association (IIA)
• Service Providers Industry Association (SPAN)
• Toshiba Australia and New Zealand

Terms of Reference

The Government's ICT election policy, Connecting an Innovative Australia, committed to:

... establish a Teleworking and Home-based Business Taskforce-a group of relevant Government agencies, industry and small business representatives-to examine and advise Government on any impediments to the development of more home-based work and teleworking options for Australians and businesses seeking to provide more flexible workplaces for their employees. (19 September 2004)

As a result, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations have established ATAC.

Telework refers to work activities undertaken in which the location of the work is independent of the location of the employer or contractor. In the context of this review telework arrangements are specifically intended to include:

• work activities performed by employees from home, including as a means toward improving work/life balances;
• work activities performed in 'satellite' working centres, such as those undertaken by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority; and
• home-based work, including by the self-employed.

While not the focus of this review, telework arrangements are also sometimes defined to include:

• 'time-shifting' arrangements, including workers collaborating with colleagues based in different time-zones; and
• out-sourced operations, including by work teams located off-shore and collaborating across international boundaries and time-zones.

Telework generally relies on the use of ICT to facilitate communications between remote workers and central work locations. A significant focus of this review includes the consideration of flexible working practices that are supported by broadband connectivity, including the use of high-speed Internet, multi-party videoconferencing, virtual collaboration and 3G hand-help access technologies.

ATAC is required to provide specific advice on:

• the current status of telework in Australia and overseas;
• emerging telework trends in both the public and private sectors;
• outcomes that would flow from an accelerated uptake of telework arrangements in the Australian workforce, including:

- analysis of social and/or economic costs and benefits; and

- providing quantitative analysis where possible;

• the range of issues affecting telework take-up, including cultural, technical, regulatory and others drivers and impediments; and
• recommendations designed to promote the effective adoption of telework arrangements, including through the development of market-based strategies.