First look: Atlassian turns Melbourne into its fastest-growing tech hub
Atlassian has thrown its full weight behind Melbourne, unveiling its first permanent CBD workplace as the city becomes one of the company's fastest-growing hubs worldwide.
The sixty-billion-dollar software giant has surged from virtually no Victorian staff before the pandemic to 650 employees today, placing Melbourne alongside Seattle and Bangalore in its top tier of growth markets.
On Thursday, the company officially opened its new 1,848-square-metre workplace at Level 20, 100 Queen Street, Melbourne a space deliberately designed for Atlassian's hybrid culture rather than traditional office routines.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Despite its "Team Anywhere" philosophy, which allows staff to choose when and where they work, the Melbourne hub is already thriving.
According to reports, about a quarter of Victorian staff now attend at least occasionally, with daily occupancy averaging seventy-five per cent and early peaks hitting close to one hundred per cent.
The office features bright blue central staircases which connect floors, open plan connection hubs for work spaces and light filled kitchen dining spaces for communal catch ups.
Damning rankings fail to deter tech expansion
Atlassian's vote of confidence comes as the Business Council of Australia again ranked Victoria last in its Regulation Rumble 2025 report, citing the least competitive payroll tax, highest land tax for foreign owners, and heavy licensing requirements.
But Premier Jacinta Allan insists the state is positioning itself for a major tech-driven overhaul. In her State of the State address, she outlined a push to make Victoria Australia's data-centre capital, a shift she argues could attract twenty-five billion dollars in investment.
"We're going to be ruthless about it," she told the Committee for Economic Development Australia. "We want to be the data-centre centre. We have the land, the energy and the talent."
The government has committed $5.5 million dollars to a sustainable data-centre location plan and $8.1 million dollars to an AI "career-conversion" program aimed at retraining workers affected by automation.
Allan said advances in artificial intelligence could add thirty billion dollars to Victoria's economy over the next decade.
'We go where the talent is'
Staff members enjoy the new Melbourne office. Via Instagram
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes addressed commentary about Victoria's business climate directly, saying the gloomy rankings do not align with the company's experience.
In a LinkedIn post this week, he wrote:
"Spent yesterday at our new office in Melbourne. Hard to believe we've gone from almost no-one pre-COVID to 650+ Atlassians today.
"Lots of chatter about Victoria being tough for business. Hasn't matched our experience. We go where the talent is, and Melbourne's one of our fastest-growing locations in the world."
He said he was "proud of what we're building right here at home".
Originally published as First look: Atlassian turns Melbourne into its fastest-growing tech hub
