Telecommute from Wagga, get out of the big smoke: Genevieve Smith

She kept her Melbourne job, she kept her salary and she moved to Wagga with relative ease – all made possible thanks to her phone and a laptop computer.

“I kept the laptop I had and worked remotely. Literally just by phone and email I was able to work from Wagga,” Ms Macneil said.

“I just felt really grateful that I was able to pick myself up and work elsewhere without having to let go of too much.”

Ms Macneil, who worked for accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, is one in a growing number of Australians opting to “telecommute”. That is, working from home while the employer’s home base remains elsewhere.

Telecommuting is seen as one of the key drivers of regional growth, empowering city people to a regional area because of an availability of jobs. 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority estimates there are more than 5.6 million “digital workers” in Australia and growing.

Wagga businesswoman Genevieve Smith, who teleworks for city-based firm Technology One, said working remotely should be encouraged.

“The technology has changed so we’re just seeing a a huge increase in uptake,” she said. “So many people want to get out of the city, but they just need the jobs to get them there … governments have a big role to play here with decentralisation. It’s just ludicrous to keep all those jobs in the city.”

Another teleworker, Wagga’s Jason Crowley, worked for IBM when the technology giant decentralised its operations.

“Whether I was working from Sydney or Wagga, it was the same thing,” he said. “But you’ve got to have the commitment and the flexibility.”

Mr Crowley said if targets were not met, employers would zero in on work arrangements.

“They will say ‘is it not working because of the distance or is it a lack of commitment?’” he said.

“It has to work for both parties.”

Women in Business Wagga will host former Regional Australia Institute chief Su McClusky at a breakfast event next month to delve into regional business issues.

For more information, email info@waggawib.org.au or visit the Women in Business Facebook page.