10 July 2023
Official information request No.
8140011957(Please quote this in any
correspondence)
Sue Garden
By email:
[FYI request #22840 email]
Tēnā koe Sue
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
Re: Employee Attendance at Auckland Council
Thank you for your email of 18 May 2023 about employee attendance at Auckland Council.
Your specific request and our response are set out below.
1. Average staff attendance rates at Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, Tātaki
Auckland Unlimited and Eke Panuku Office Buildings:
a) The average attendance rate of staff for the last and current financial year.
Most large organisations occupy space around a 60 to 65 per cent ratio at any one time
(percentage of staff in the office at any one time). In the current financial year Auckland
Council and Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) including Auckland Transport, Tātaki
Auckland Unlimited and Eke Panuku’s occupied space consistent with these levels on
average. The primary reason for these occupancy ratios (generally consistent across other
organisations) is normal out of office requirements including staff leave, training and
meetings, fieldwork, rostered staff, remote and on-site activities that takes staff away from
their office-based activities.
For the previous financial year July 2021 to June 2022, the average staff attendance rate
across Auckland Council and the CCOs was below 50 per cent. Like all organisations, lower
than usual at endance rates were caused by the Covid-19 frameworks, alert levels, Covid-
related self-isolation, and traffic light set ing shutdown periods, as well as normal out of office
requirements. It should also be noted that for the period of August 2021 to the end of
November 2021, Auckland was at either Alert Level 4 or Alert Level 3. On 2 December 2021,
all of New Zealand moved to the Covid-19 traffic light system. During this period, most staff
worked from home when they were unable to enter the corporate buildings.
Auckland Council and the CCOs have similar flexible workplace practices in place, which
includes smart desking and flexitime for some staff. These practices ensure best use of our
corporate space. For example, at Auckland Council’s Auckland House building around 3500
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
Auckland Council employees identify Auckland House as their ‘home’ work location.
However, there is provision for only around 2500 desks in the building as not all staff require
a desk at the same time.
It is also important to note that Auckland Council and the CCOs do not have a typical office
worker profile - there is a range of different working styles to accommodate our business
requirements. . For example, many staff have a corporate office building as their base but
spend a good portion of their days carrying out site visits or field work. Smart desking in the
office buildings means that people can come and go throughout the day, depending on
meetings. Smart desking also supports some staff who either start very early in the day or
are rostered to work evenings, overnight and weekends without the need to carry surplus
space.
Our frontline staff, who make up a large proportion of our workforce, work in community-
based buildings and facilities like libraries, pools and leisure centres, and in open spaces,
like parks.
Finally, it is worth noting is that Auckland Council and the CCOs are in the process of
completing a portfolio optimisation programme targeting an overall reduction in Auckland
Council and CCO corporate office footprint from 128,000 sqm that we occupied in 2020 to
under 70,000 sqm overall by the end of June 2024.
b) The average attendance rate of the executive team members, including the
chief executive at the Auckland Council and CCO offices, for the last and
current financial year.
Auckland Council and CCO executive team members and chief executives engage in
various activities both inside and outside of the office that impacts their office attendance,
including community engagements, business engagements and operational site visits, as
well as usual leave and sickness.
For the previous financial year being July 2021 to June 2022, the average attendance rate at
our corporate buildings of the executive team members and chief executives across
Auckland Council and the CCOs was around 50 per cent. Like all organisations, lower than
usual attendance rates were caused by normal business requirements and leave as well as
the Covid-19 frameworks, alert levels, covid related self-isolation, and traffic light setting
restriction periods. Like most of our other staff, the chief executives and executive teams
mainly worked from home during the period of Covid-19 restrictions when they were not able
to enter the corporate buildings.
In the current financial year, the council and CCOs have largely returned to normalised work
patterns. Occupancy levels for the Auckland Council and CCO executive team members
and chief executives across is now between 65 and 75 percent office attendance, with much
of their work involving meetings with other agencies, attendance at Committee and
Governing Body meetings three days per week and site visits to projects and community-
based services.
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
2. Average staff attendance rates at Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) Offices:
a) The average attendance rate of staff at the offices of the fol owing CCOs affiliated
with Auckland Council for the last and current financial year.
Answer included in item 1a above.
b)
The average attendance rate of executive team members, including the Chief
Executives, at the offices of the aforementioned CCOs for the last and current
financial year.
Answer included in item 1b above.
3. Expenditure on office facilities:
a) The total expenditure incurred by Auckland Council and CCO’s for office facilities
(including rates, maintenance, lease/rental costs, utilities, and related expenses).
Organisation ($ million) FY22 Actual Expenditure
FY23 year to date
Auckland Council
$9.2
$8.3
Auckland Transport
$8.7
$8.7
Tataki Auckland Unlimited
$ 1.4
$1.3
Eke Panuku
$1.8
$1.8
a) The total expenditure incurred by each of the CCOs listed above for office facilities
(including rates, maintenance, lease/rental costs, utilities, and related expenses).
Please provide this information separately for each CCO.
Answer included in item 3a above.
Decisions relating to the information that is being released to you were made by
Richard
Jarrett, Director Group Services.
Should you believe Auckland Council has not responded appropriately to your request, you
have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA, to apply to the
Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of the decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
If you have any further queries, please contact me on 09 301 0101 quoting official information
request number 8140011957.
Ngā mihi
Angela Hare
Senior Privacy & LGOIMA Business Partner
Governance Services
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
Document Outline
