Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, uptake of remote working arrangements has been low. Based on the 2016 Census, the authors estimate that on average, roughly 2-8 per cent of the Australian workforce were working remotely on any given day. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an unprecedented upsurge in the adoption of remote working arrangements.

Based on surveys conducted by the ABS during the pandemic, at least 40 per cent of the Australian workforce reported working remotely one or more times a week during the peak of the pandemic, and 30 per cent reported working remotely most days. The pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to test the viability of remote working practices across different jobs and industries; to assess their economic, social and environmental impacts; and to examine if and how these practices could and should be continued in the future.