Victoria’s proposed work-from-home laws have put hybrid work back on the agenda for employers. But the practical office question is not whether everyone will suddenly disappear for two days a week.
It is whether your workplace still makes sense when attendance changes from day to day.
An office designed around one permanent desk for every employee can have rows of empty workstations on quieter days, then run short of meeting rooms, quiet spaces and project areas when the team comes together. The floor area is there. It is simply allocated to the wrong jobs.
For Melbourne and Geelong businesses, now is a sensible time to review how the office is actually being used—without assuming that a full rebuild or a wholesale furniture replacement is required.
What has the Victorian Government proposed?
On 16 June 2026, the Victorian Government introduced the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026. In its current form, the Bill would give eligible employees a right to work from home for two days a week where it is reasonable to do so. Part-time and regular casual employees would receive a pro-rata entitlement.
The proposed commencement date is 1 September 2026. Workplaces with fewer than 15 employees would have a delayed start of 1 July 2027.
At the time of writing, this remains proposed legislation. Employers should check the final Act and official guidance, including eligibility and reasonableness requirements, before changing workplace policies. This article is about office planning, not legal or employment advice.
Do not plan around an average attendance figure
A weekly average can hide the pressure points.
A 40-person team averaging 60 per cent attendance does not necessarily need exactly 24 desks. Tuesday might bring 34 people into the office while Friday brings 14. Some roles may be on-site most days. Others may attend mainly for workshops, meetings or training. New starters and visiting staff add another layer.
Before removing desks, look at:
- attendance by day, not just the weekly average;
- the busiest periods over at least four to six weeks;
- which roles need fixed equipment or confidential settings;
- how often meeting rooms are full;
- where video calls happen now;
- whether project teams can sit together when required; and
- expected recruitment or changes in headcount.
The aim is not to squeeze the desk count as low as possible. It is to avoid replacing one problem—empty desks—with another—staff arriving on a busy day with nowhere suitable to work.
Five layout changes worth considering
1. Keep enough workpoints for the peak day
Shared desks can be useful, but only when the details are resolved. Staff need reliable monitors, power, cable management and somewhere for personal items. A booking system may help in a large workplace, while a smaller team may only need clearly agreed attendance days.
The right desk number comes from the peak-day pattern and the type of work performed, not a generic desk-to-person ratio.
2. Give collaboration its own space
People often travel to the office specifically to work with other people. If the only choices are a formal boardroom or a cluster of desks, project work spills into areas that were not designed for it.
A practical collaboration setting may be as simple as a shared table, mobile whiteboard and nearby screen. The important part is that the space supports a real team activity rather than existing as decorative breakout furniture.
3. Create somewhere better for calls and focused work
Hybrid work produces more video calls inside the office. When every call happens at an open desk, the result is noise for everyone—including the person on the other end.
Depending on the site, the answer could include acoustic screens, focus rooms, booths or pods, plus quieter zones positioned away from circulation and collaborative areas. Furniture and zoning changes can sometimes solve much of the problem without new walls.
4. Check whether meeting rooms include remote participants
A room can look polished and still perform badly in a hybrid meeting. Long tables may put some faces too far from the camera. Hard surfaces create echo. Screens can be poorly positioned, power points inaccessible and daylight difficult to control.
Review sightlines, camera position, acoustics, table shape and where people naturally sit. The goal is a meeting where remote participants can see, hear and contribute—not merely watch from the edge.
5. Reuse furniture before replacing it
A hybrid reconfiguration does not automatically require a new furniture package. Serviceable desks may be moved into a smaller workstation zone. Existing task chairs can remain in service where suitable. Storage may be relocated, and underused meeting furniture may work in a project area.
New furniture is most useful when it fills a genuine gap: acoustic settings, flexible tables, lockers, soft seating or better-equipped shared workpoints. That approach can reduce cost, disruption and unnecessary waste. Read more about TAO’s sustainable office furniture approach.
What we usually find on site
When we walk through an existing office, the issue is rarely that every part of it is too small. More often, the balance is wrong.
There may be 15 empty desks while every small meeting room is occupied. Staff take calls beside colleagues because no quiet setting is available. A large boardroom sits unused for most of the day, while a project team tries to gather around the end of a workstation.
That is why a useful review starts with observation, attendance and the work being done. It does not start with a furniture catalogue. Sometimes moving what is already there and adding two or three missing settings is enough.
A practical review before September
Even before the Bill’s final form is settled, employers can gather information that will remain useful:
- record attendance and meeting-room demand by weekday;
- ask staff which tasks bring them into the office;
- note where calls, noise, privacy or storage create friction;
- identify furniture that is serviceable and worth retaining;
- check whether peak-day capacity allows for growth and visitors; and
- separate immediate fixes from longer-term fitout work.
This gives you a clearer brief. It also reduces the risk of making a rushed change based on assumptions about hybrid work.
Plan the office around the work
The proposed Victorian changes are a trigger to review the workplace, not a reason to chase a fashionable layout. A good hybrid office still needs dependable workstations. It also needs the right places for calls, concentrated work, group sessions, meetings and team connection.
The Agile Office can assess your Melbourne or Geelong workplace, review what can be reused and develop a practical reconfiguration plan around your attendance patterns, budget and site. If the honest answer is that your current layout already works, we will tell you.
Book a free hybrid office reconfiguration consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Have Victoria’s work-from-home changes become law?
At the time of writing, the Victorian Government has introduced the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026, but it remains proposed legislation. Check the final legislation and official Victorian guidance before relying on it for workplace policy decisions.
Does hybrid work mean we should remove desks?
Not automatically. Review peak attendance, role requirements, growth plans and how staff use the workplace first. Some offices need fewer desks; others mainly need better meeting, acoustic or collaboration settings.
How many shared desks should a hybrid office have?
There is no universal ratio. Use actual attendance by weekday and allow for peak days, visitors, new starters and roles that need fixed equipment. A four-to-six-week attendance sample is more useful than a single headcount estimate.
Can an office be reconfigured without a full fitout?
Yes. Existing desks, chairs, storage and meeting furniture can often be relocated and reused. Targeted additions can then address specific gaps such as acoustic privacy, lockers or project space.
Can The Agile Office help in Melbourne and Geelong?
Yes. The Agile Office provides space planning, office furniture, delivery and installation for targeted reconfigurations and broader office fitouts across Melbourne, Geelong and surrounding business areas.
Source
Victorian Government, “Labor Locks In Your Right To Work From Home”, published 16 June 2026.
