By AIDAN KNIGHT
NATIONALLY-recognised provider, Aussie Broadband, which started in Morwell, opened its new Traralgon office recently.
From humble beginnings, the provider now has offices in Perth and Sydney.
The company’s chief executive Brian Monk praised the monumental effort put in both business-wise to get the company to this next stage, and in terms of the new Traralgon space development.
“From early concept through to design and build, it’s been fantastic to see it evolve from idea to reality,” he said.
The head office, previously housed on Electra Avenue, Morwell, has moved, expanded, and reinvented itself in the former ASIC office on 14-22 Grey Street, Traralgon.
This has provided room for further recruitment in the future, as all employees work on the same floor.
Previously, the company was spread across multiple buildings across Gippsland.
This is also expected to strengthen the company’s team culture, streamline operations, and reinforce its long-term commitment to the Gippsland region.
Mr Monk made it clear that the internet service provider will not lose touch with its roots.
“Gippsland is where our strongest ties lie,” he said.
“We’re investing in the Gippsland digital workforce. We plan to support STEM capabilities, helping young people build future-ready skills without leaving the region.”
Also speaking was Gippsland Lifeline Chief Executive Cindy Pullar, a partner of Aussie Broadband, whose organisation, curiously, also started in a Morwell loungeroom.
“I’m one of 16 paid employees,” Ms Pullar said, representing a wide-reaching branch that is built on the back of roughly 250 volunteers. She cited Aussie Broadband as a key player in enabling Gippsland Lifeline to reach the successes it has through their partnership.
“Before the laptops we received this year, if I sent out an email to our volunteers, a majority of them wouldn’t be able to open it. I was required to print copies and put them on a truck to deliver to our Lifeline Op Shops,” she explained.
Lifeline is just one example of how Aussie Broadband has worked to transform and uplift many organisations and businesses.
Aussie Broadband has also helped Lifeline Gippsland take an additional 1000 calls. This fact garnered a raucous applause when told at the grand opening.
The next speaker for the day was Paul Boys, Director of Gippsland Technical School.
Mr Boys remarked on the impressiveness of the technology and workspaces being invested into the region, and how it inspires institutions like his own, and TAFE Gippsland, to work with Aussie Broadband to connect students to better careers and upcoming pathways not as readily available anywhere else.
“We have students who come to us experiencing a range of different levels of engagement in (mainstream) school,” he said.
“So, it’s important to be able to co-design experiences for them together.”
Another executive member was heard to comment that since moving into the repurposed location, staff have been noticeably “dressing smarter and looking sharper” around the office, indicating that people are proud to be working in the refreshed space.
Operating since 2008, Aussie Broadband started in a Morwell longue room by Latrobe Valley locals Phil Britt and John Riser, before growing to a single-room office above a travel agent in Commercial Road.
