Australian Government Office Occupancy Reports

2023 Australian Government Office Occupancy Report

Overview

The Australian Government Office Occupancy Report (Occupancy Report) provides insights into office tenancies with at least 500 square metres of usable office area that were leased or owned by non-corporate Commonwealth entities (entities), as at 30 June each year.

Data is collected through the Australian Government Property Register (AGPR), which entities (through their Property Service Providers) are required to update annually.

The point-in-time nature of the data can add volatility to annual results. However, the information provides an understanding of medium and long-term trends, especially given the impact of leasing decisions become evident over several years.

The Occupancy Report, together with other data collected through the AGPR, provides an evidence base to assist entities to identify and progressively implement better property management practices, while also informing decisions in relation to whole-of-government leasing and property policy.

Key findings

Key findings of the 2023 Occupancy Report highlights ongoing efficiencies in the use of the Commonwealth’s property portfolio. In particular:

the national occupational density in 2023 was 13.4m² and is the first year this went beyond the target of 14m² since it was introduced in 2013.
the percentage of tenancies meeting the occupational density target increased from 44.3 per cent in 2022 to 48.7 per cent in 2023.
entities reported a decrease in work-point vacancy rates, from 7.8 per cent in 2022 to 1.8 per cent in 2023.
work-point vacancy decreased from 20.5 per cent in 2013 to 1.8 per cent in 2023.
the national fit-out density of tenancies has decreased from 15.1m² in 2013 to 13.2m² in 2023.

Table 1: Key Metrics (2021 to 2023)

Measure	2021	2022	2023
Tenancies (n)	617	645	649
Controlled Area (m²)	2,922,664	3,027,239	2,971,038
Usable Office Area (m²)	2,314,718	2,422,416	2,341,034
Work-points (n)	170,331	177,136	177,756
Staff (n)(a)	157,645	163,254	174,616
Vacant Work-points (n)	12,686	13,882	3,140
Work-point Vacancy Rate (%)	7.4	7.8	1.8
National Fit-out Density (m²)	13.6	13.7	13.2
National Occupational Density (m²)	14.7	14.8	13.4
Tenancies Meeting the Occupational Density Target (%)	43.6	44.3%	48.7%
Net Tenancy Expenditure ($m)	1,449.9	1,544.2	1,519.2
Cost per Controlled Area ($)	496	510	511
Cost per Staff ($)	9,197	9,459	8,700
Cost per Work-point ($)	8,512	8,718	8,547

^{(a) Staff numbers includes contractors and is a count of individual staff allocated to the lease.}

Background

The Department of Finance is responsible for co-ordinating the AGPR and reporting results in the Occupancy Report.