Co-working continues to take Australia by storm: Meetings and new spaces launched

The co-working trend continues this month with a 50-strong gathering in Queensland meeting to discuss collaborative workspaces and a new space launching in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda this month.

One of the groups attending the Queensland meet-up was the Creative Collective, a marketing and online community management company.

Project coordinator Bronwyn Buksh told StartupSmart Australian start-ups were increasingly keen to get out of their homes and work in vibrant communities.

“We understand the future of work is more about knowledge flows through the individuals rather than offices. Teleworking has been fantastic and offers lots of flexibility, but it can be isolating,” Buksh says.

“Even with the disruption of digital tech, we’re still seeking and needing face-to-face interaction, communication and collaboration.”

Buksh says she expects more and more people across a wide range of industries will explore co-working in the next few years.

“This new active work model, where people work side by side based on task rather than based on teams or companies creates new options for people who want to balance life and work,” Buksh says. “It also lets regions develop innovation precincts.”

In line with this trend, a new co-working space, The Junction, was launched in St Kilda in Melbourne this week.

Co-founder Rupert Greenhough told StartupSmart they wanted to launch a co-working space out of the city, and chose St Kilda as there was increasing start-up activity in the local area.

“We wanted to be outside the city to set up a more relaxed space. We found a building in St Kilda that had 22 parking spots, easy access to transport, the airport and the city, and there weren’t many other start-up groups out there but lots of activity,” he says.

The Junction has 35 desk spaces, of which six are currently filled by two start-ups. Greenhough says they’re keen to welcome more start-ups to the space.

“When you’re a start-up with two or three people, you can do that in the garage or around the kitchen table, but you don’t get the benefit of working with other people. It can be very lonely running a start-up, so co-working offers the opportunity to share ideas and genuinely help each other with referrals and breaking down issues,” Greenhough says.

He adds with time and the right mix of start-ups, they hope to launch a more structured presentation and education offering as well.