A Dutton Coalition government says it will be asking federal public servants to return to working in the office five days per week.
Shadow Minister for Finance Jane Hume outlined the plan during a speech to the Menzies Research Institute on March 3.
“Exceptions can and will be made, of course; but they will be made where they work for everyone rather than be enforced on teams by an individual.”
Hume described the plan as common sense policy that would instill a culture that focuses on the dignity of servicing the public.
“A service that relies on the public to fund it, and a service that respects that funding by ensuring they are as productive as possible,” she said.
“A public service that respects its resources and a government that is disciplined in its fiscal management, we can deliver more effective and more efficient services for Australians.”
The shadow finance minister said having higher expectations of the government was both reasonable and essential for a healthy democracy.
She said under a Dutton government, Australians would know the taxes they pay were being spent in Australia’s best interests.
In an apparent reference to Trump administration senior adviser Elon Musk, she said, “It doesn’t require a new department, or a tech billionaire. But it does require a change of government, a restoration of disciplines Labor has abandoned, and a back to basics approach.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Peter Dutton also told reporters in Canberra on March 4 that people refusing to go back to work in Canberra was not acceptable.
He clarified there were “plenty of opportunities around job sharing and there are some jobs that are appropriate to be home-based.” He also said there would be a “commonsense approach” for women with children.
“But I won’t tolerate a position where taxpayers are working harder than ever to pay the bills and they’re seeing public servants in Canberra refuse to go to work. That will not happen under a government I lead,” he told reporters in Queensland.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Dutton’s policy team of copying ideas from overseas, saying, “if they hear something on the news, an announcement from overseas about sacking public servants, or people working from home, or DEI, the dreaded inclusion policy that they’re so worried about—they say, ‘Yeah, I’ll have some of that.’”
“We don’t have to adopt all of America’s policies. What we need is Australian policies for Australian conditions, because we are unashamedly the best country on earth and we don’t need to borrow from anyone else,” Albanese said.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher also accused the Coalition of copying policies from the United States and raised concerns about working women.
Return to Work Mandate for Federal US Public Servants
In the United States, the Trump administration has required public servants to return to work five days a week in person.In an executive order issued Jan. 20, U.S. President Donald Trump mandated that remote work be terminated.
“Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements,” the order stated.
“And require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”
Musk plays an integral role in an advisory body created by President Donald Trump known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, the official acting leader of DOGE is former consultant Amy Gleason.
Following the return to work mandate, Musk quoted a post from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) on Feb. 24 raising concerns about empty office space in federal departments.
“Not a single government agency is occupying even half of their office space. Their checks come from we the people.. Welcome back to work, folks.”
