National Telework Seminar Series Launches in Adelaide on Thursday 5 July at Hotel intercontinental

As the National Broadband Network is rolled out through Australia, a series of seminars are being launched in major cities and regional centres to highlight the benefits to business that the NBN will bring.

Many of the social benefits that are synonymous with faster online access are being translated for adoption into the workplace. Teleworking, also known as telecommuting, provides more than the flexibility associated with smartphones, tablets and the internet. The NBN will amplify this flexibility by giving teleworkers and their employers greater, faster accessibility to data that has traditionally been transported via hard drives and external storage devices. It means that staff will be able to work from home or any location in Australia – away from their formal office – and still have access to office networks and their colleagues through audio and face-to-face conferencing that is no longer impeded by slow internet speeds.

Suzanne Campbell, Chief Executive Officer at Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), adds that the benefits of teleworking will extend beyond its current reach, "The NBN will serve to facilitate communication between corporate environments and staff in ways not yet common in Australian work environments.”

"Teleworking is ideal for meeting many of the broader challenges facing Australian business including overcoming geographically diverse locations, the ageing workforce and changing expectations of work-life balance in this generation. It means that key staff can stay in their preferred locations and transfer their knowledge via the NBN; corporate knowledge can be retained by offering retiring staff alternative work spaces; and staff attraction and retention is enhanced through flexible working arrangements”

"The focus now should be preparing organisations to introduce their staff and cultures to Teleworking. The National Seminar Series brings together a pool of keynote speakers who have successfully introduced teleworking into their environments; people such as David Johnston, CIO of SA Health and Chris Luxford, President, Aegis Australia along with a panel comprising Steve Harrison, Director, Economic and Business Development, City of Prospect and Tony Hall, Senior Coordinator - Health, Safety and Environment, Canon Australia.

"Over lunch, the tips for working with staff to re-shape organisational cultures and IT practises will be reviewed, and discussion with audience members and the panel will be encouraged. Staff can rightly be excited about the potential change to the way we work but the understanding of the benefits, productivity gains and cost efficiencies will be buoy Executives teams and entrepreneurial business owners.”

The Seminar Series is sponsored by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and commences in Adelaide at midday on Thursday 5th July 2012 at the Hotel Intercontinental, North Terrace before travelling to other capital cities and regional centres (details attached). Adelaide tickets are $105 ex GST include lunch and are available www.aiia.com.au/Telework or call Kym Welsby at PKF on (08) 7421 1400.

Media enquiries: contact Suzanne Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Information Industry Association, ph 02 6281 9413, m 0438 408 909, or email s.campbell@aiia.com.au