Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223:front:0:p16
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 42613–45513

a departure from other bank buildings lining Martin Place.  Those dating from before 1945 were traditionally load bearing masonry construction, implicitly expressing stability and solidity, whereas the Reserve Bank was designed in the International Modernism architectural style with an emphasis on openness and transparency.  The expansive glass windows at ground floor level were selected to express transparency and openness and reflect the principles on which the Bank itself would operate.

For employees of the Bank, the organisation was a prestigious and desirable place to work. The Bank was a generous employer by the standards of the day. Staff had their own health fund, superannuation fund and their own workers union and credit union with the Commonwealth Bank. The Bank had a strong staff hierarchy and senior positions in the structure were important with considerable community status.

This status is demonstrated in physical terms by the design of executive and staff areas in the head office building in Sydney as it is in other branches of the Bank in other capital cities.

During the 1960s, the Bank buildings were known to provide more extensive staff facilities compared with other contemporary buildings. In Sydney these facilities consisted of the cafeteria, executive and Board dining rooms, the staff lounge, the staff library, a medical suite, squash courts and associated amenities, an auditorium and an observation deck on the 20th level for the use of staff and ex staff.

Providing recreation and other facilities for the staff was considered important to support the corporate culture of the time.  In the 1960s, most Bank staff joined the organisation as young people and the men would certainly have expected to remain with the Bank for the remainder of their working lives. Vacancies in senior management positions were generally filled from within the Bank structure. Strong social bonds were fostered in this environment and these were fostered by the Bank in the availability and use of facilities within the building.  Although a number of city buildings constructed in the 1960s, such as QANTAS House, the Goodsell Building and the NSW State Office Block, contained a range of staff facilities including staff dining rooms and cafeterias[11], the Reserve Bank of Australia Head Office additionally included a Medical Centre, Squash Courts, and a Firing Range used for the training of security guards.

As times have changed the use and necessity for many of these facilities within a building with a reduced workforce has diminished and the functions and usage patterns of the special facilities has changed dramatically. This change in functional requirements has been reinforced by changes in corporate culture. Increasing flexibility within organizations, coupled with focus on competitive practice has altered the attitudes and structure of the workplace