The city's hospitality and retail sectors were able to welcome back office workers from Monday with a further increase in on-site caps.
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From Monday, up to 25 per cent of public service workers were allowed to work from their offices, with up to 50 per cent at all other offices.
That means more people hitting up eateries for lunch and knock-offs in the CBD, which will help with the post-Christmas economic rebuild, according to Commerce Ballarat chief executive Jodie Gillett.
"You don't realise how many meetings are held in a coffee shop, or catering done for meetings in offices," she said.
"It's imperative we get as many people as we can back into town."
While many people have worked from home for the past nine or so months, for many workplaces, having more people on-site will also bring other benefits.
"It's really important for people's mental health and productivity - no doubt we saw a decline in both towards the end of last year," Ms Gillett said.
Despite the relaxation of some restrictions - this includes mask wearing, which is now required only in places supermarkets and shopping centres, as well as on public transport and in taxis - Ms Gillett said people cannot get complacent.
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"Life's much better now, we're open and we need to stay that way," she said.
"You can't think just because we haven't had a case in Ballarat for such a long time that it's no longer as necessary to check in or wear your mask in appropriate places - it definitely is, and it's critical to continue to do that until we have a vaccine that's rolled out to the entire population."
Resources for businesses are available online from DHHS and Commerce Ballarat.
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