In 2020,  the New South Wales Ministry of Health (NSW Health), a ministerial department of the New South Wales Government relocated its headquarters to a newly constructed 30,000 square metres building designed to support an activity-based way of working, with a capacity for approximately 3,500 staff. 

Despite the difficulty of relocating the department during the pandemic, the move was successfully completed on time. Unlike most organisations that shifted to remote work during the lockdown periods, NSW Health had to maintain a contingent of office-based workforce. The department instead decided to maintain its approach to activity based working with increased cleaning support rather than make changes to the built environment for people to work at a safe distance . Instead of telling staff how and where to work in a Covid-safe way, they empowered them to make those decisions themselves.

Find out more about the challenges and key learnings experienced by the organisation with guest Amy Chew, Director, Property and Workplace Experience, NSW Health.