In the ongoing negotiation between institutional habit and the freedoms workers discovered during the pandemic, CoStar has chosen a side. The multinational property data company is requiring some 800 Australian employees to return to the office five days a week from late September — a posture that places it firmly in the minority of Australian employers, and on a potential collision course with both workforce expectations and emerging Victorian legislation. It is a reminder that the question of where work happens is not merely logistical, but a contest over who shapes the conditions of daily l
CoStar mandates five-day office return, bucking Australia's hybrid work trend
The office is our primary place of work
Mark
Why would CoStar move against the trend when most companies are moving toward flexibility?
Mimi
They're arguing that their business—real estate data, property marketplace operations—requires the kind of rapid decision-making and cross-team collaboration that happens best in person. But it's also worth noting that they're a multinational company. Global policies often drive these decisions, not just local conditions.
Mark
But they say flexibility remains a core value. How do they square that circle?
Mimi
Through formal requests. If you have childcare or caring duties, you can apply for an exception. They're offering job-sharing and compressed hours too. It's flexibility on their terms, not yours—you have to justify why you need it, rather than it being a default right.
Mark
What happens if Victoria's law passes before September 21?
Mimi
That's the real tension. If the law takes effect before CoStar's policy kicks in, they'd be legally required to allow two days of remote work. If it comes after, they might argue they're already locked into the new arrangement. Either way, they could face legal challenges from employees who signed contracts expecting flexibility.
Mark
Is CoStar alone in this?
Mimi
No, but they're in a small club. NAB, Amazon, Dell—all full-time office. But the KPMG data is striking: only one in five Australian leaders expect full-time office returns now, down from four in five just two years ago. The trend is clearly moving the other way.
Mark
What does this say about how much the pandemic actually changed work?
Mimi
It changed expectations more than it changed the work itself. The pandemic proved remote work was viable. Now companies are deciding whether viability is enough, or whether they want something more—culture, speed, presence. CoStar is betting on presence. Most others are betting that the cost of losing good people isn't worth it.
The Pulse
- CoStar is mandating full-time office attendance for roughly 800 Australian staff from September 21, abruptly ending the three-day hybrid arrangements most had relied on since the pandemic.
- The policy lands against a tide moving the other way — only one in five Australian business leaders now expect full-time office returns, down sharply from four in five just two years ago.
- Employees with personal circumstances like childcare or caring duties must navigate a formal request process, with alternatives like job-sharing or compressed hours offered in place of straightforward flexibility.
- Victoria's proposed legislation could grant workers a statutory right to two work-from-home days per week by July 2027, setting up a direct legal conflict with CoStar's new policy for its Victorian staff.
- Recent Fair Work Commission rulings cut both ways — one employee successfully challenged a return-to-office order, while another lost his job for refusing to comply despite a remote-work contract.
In the ongoing negotiation between institutional habit and the freedoms workers discovered during the pandemic, CoStar has chosen a side. The multinational property data company is requiring some 800 Australian employees to return to the office five days a week from late September — a posture that places it firmly in the minority of Australian employers, and on a potential collision course with both workforce expectations and emerging Victorian legislation. It is a reminder that the question of where work happens is not merely logistical, but a contest over who shapes the conditions of daily life.
CoStar, the multinational data company behind Australian property marketplace Domain, is requiring roughly 800 of its 1,200 Australian employees to work from the office five days a week beginning September 21 — a sharp reversal from the three-day minimum most staff had observed since the pandemic.
Domain president Jason Pellegrino frames the change as a business necessity, arguing that in-person work drives better collaboration, faster decisions, and richer learning. The company insists flexibility remains part of its culture, though for most office-based staff in Sydney and Melbourne, the mandate leaves little room. Those with personal circumstances can apply through a formal process for alternatives such as job-sharing or compressed hours. Photographers, field sales representatives, and staff without assigned desks are exempt from the five-day requirement.
CoStar joins a small group of employers — including NAB, Amazon, and Dell — pushing for full-time office presence, while the broader Australian market has settled into hybrid as the new normal. The Commonwealth Bank requires three days in-office, and Atlassian permits staff to work from anywhere. A KPMG survey found only one in five Australian business leaders now anticipate full-time returns, a dramatic retreat from the four in five who held that view in 2024.
The announcement arrives at a legally delicate moment. Victoria is considering legislation that would give employees a statutory right to work from home two days a week, potentially taking effect by July 2027 and creating a direct conflict with CoStar's policy. The Fair Work Commission has already shown it will weigh in on such disputes, with recent rulings landing on both sides of the debate.
CoStar is wagering that the cultural and operational gains of full-time office presence outweigh the friction of bucking a powerful trend. Whether that calculation holds — against shifting employee expectations, potential legislation, and a labour market that has grown accustomed to flexibility — is the question its September mandate will begin to answer.
CoStar, the multinational data company that owns the Australian property marketplace Domain, is moving decisively against the grain of Australian workplace culture. Starting September 21, roughly 800 of its 1,200 Australian employees will be required to work from the office five days a week—a sharp reversal from the three-day minimum most had been observing since the pandemic reshaped how white-collar work gets done.
The shift is framed by Domain president Jason Pellegrino as essential to the business. Working in person, he argues, helps staff collaborate more effectively, make faster decisions, and learn from one another in ways that remote arrangements cannot replicate. "We have communicated to our employees that from 21 September we are moving to an arrangement where the office is our primary place of work," Pellegrino said, though he added that the company would implement the change "in a way that reflects the needs of different roles, functions and locations." The company insists flexibility remains central to its culture, even as it mandates full-time office attendance for most workers.
Not everyone at CoStar will be affected equally. Photographers, on-the-road sales representatives, and staff without assigned office spaces will be exempt from the five-day requirement. But the majority of office-based employees in Sydney, Melbourne, and other major cities will have little choice. Those seeking flexibility for personal circumstances—childcare, caring duties, or other reasons—can request it through a formal process. The company offers alternatives like job-sharing, where multiple employees split a single role and work part-time, or compressed hours, where staff work longer days in exchange for a full day off.
CoStar's move places it among a small cohort of major Australian employers swimming against the current. The National Australia Bank confirmed last year that senior leaders must be in the office five days a week. Tech giants Amazon and Dell, setting policy globally, have similarly ordered staff back full-time. Yet the broader picture tells a different story. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's largest bank, requires staff to be in the office three days a week for at least four hours each day—a policy born partly from discovering that some employees were clocking in for just one hour. Atlassian, by contrast, has taken the opposite approach, allowing staff to work from anywhere. A KPMG survey of Australian business leaders last year found that only one in five expected white-collar workers to return to the office full-time, a dramatic shift from 2024, when four in five held that expectation.
The timing of CoStar's announcement is complicated by emerging legislation. Victoria is considering a new law that would give employees a statutory right to work from home two days a week if it is reasonable to do so. If passed, the law would take effect no earlier than July 2027, potentially creating a direct conflict with CoStar's policy for its Victorian staff. The Fair Work Commission has already shown willingness to intervene in such disputes. Last year, a Westpac employee who relocated to be near her children's school successfully challenged the bank's office attendance policy. This year, however, a Melbourne man who refused to comply with his company's return-to-office mandate, despite having a contract allowing remote work, failed to win back his job.
CoStar's decision reflects a broader tension in Australian workplaces: the pull between operational preferences and employee expectations that have fundamentally shifted. The pandemic proved that much white-collar work could be done effectively from home. Most companies have settled into a middle ground, accepting hybrid arrangements as the new normal. CoStar is betting that the benefits of full-time office presence—collaboration, speed, culture—outweigh the cost of swimming against the current. Whether that bet pays off, and whether it can withstand the legal and cultural headwinds building around workplace flexibility, remains to be seen.
Notable Quotes
We have communicated to our employees that from 21 September we are moving to an arrangement where the office is our primary place of work. Flexibility remains a core part of our culture for all employees.— Jason Pellegrino, Domain president
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Politics & Governance