Treasury officially opened its Melbourne office yesterday, marking a major milestone in its move towards more dynamic stakeholder engagement.
The move to Melbourne builds on the success of Treasury opening an office in Sydney almost a year ago.
"It is great to be able to say that Treasury has arrived in Melbourne," Treasury Secretary John Fraser said.
"The move marks a major milestone — for Treasury as an institution, and for our drive to be better connected with our stakeholders.
"Ongoing, productive engagement with the community must be a standard part of our business.
"Consultation and engagement informs our advice and brings understanding, influence and confidence that Treasury will deliver sound, authoritative advice to government."
By opening offices in Melbourne and Sydney, Treasury hopes to more practically tap into the broadest range of stakeholders, including those from government, peak organisations, business, academia and the broader community.
"We have already seen great success in building our relationships with the private sector through our Sydney office. Our presence in Melbourne will expand these connections further," Head of Treasury’s Sydney and Melbourne Offices Christine Barron said.
"In particular, we look forward to entrenching and enhancing our relationships with business, the superannuation industry, academia and think tanks in Melbourne.
"Both our interstate offices give Treasury an opportunity to form stronger relationships with stakeholders and support more secondments from the private sector for the mutual benefit of all parties. These offices also allow us to recruit from a diverse pool of skills and experience.
"To date, we have welcomed 15 staff to our Sydney office from the private sector, five of which have been secondees.
"As with Sydney, our presence in Melbourne will also facilitate a higher and more continuous gathering of information for our forecasting process.
"I look forward to seeing the Melbourne office grow — in knowledge, reputation and reach — in the years ahead."
Treasury currently has 13 staff located in Melbourne and 32 in Sydney.
To get in touch with Treasury’s Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney offices, people can call the national switchboard number on 1800 020 00, or +61 2 6263 2111 if calling from overseas. People can also email department@treasury.gov.au.