Gillard announces teleworking initiative
- 12 November, 2012 11:25
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has set a goal of having 12 per cent of Australian Public Service (APS) workers regularly telework by 2020.
Selected APS departments will trial telworking arrangements starting in the first half of next year. Deployment of the NBN will support greater teleworking in Australia, Gillard’s office said.
The commitment by the leader of the Australian Parliament was made as National Telework Week (12 to 16 November) gets underway.
Gillard touted research by Colmar Brunton and Deloitte Access Economics that predicted by 2020 or 2021 teleworking could help grow annual gross domestic product by $3.2 billion and create 25,000 new full-time jobs, including 10,000 in regional Australia.
The study said great demand exists for teleworking among those who are not working.
It found that 66 per cent of non-working people with disabilities, 74 per cent of non-working people with family or carer responsibilities, 60 per cent of people nearing retirement age and 70 per cent of non-working people living in remote areas of Australia say they would telework if given the option.
Follow Adam Bender on Twitter: @WatchAdam
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia
