The Education Ministry has closed its Wellington head office because the building does not meet earthquake standards.
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The ministry said about 1000 staff work in the building and they have been asked to work at home.
It said a recent assessment found the Bowen Street offices met only 25 percent of the new building standards.
The ministry said the building was previously assessed as meeting 90 to 100 percent of the standards following strengthening.
That has changed because of new guidelines for seismic assessment.
Secretary for Education Iona Holsted said while Mātauranga House was now rated by engineers at 25 percent due to the concrete floors, other aspects of the building continued to rate well.
"Alongside the engineers' report and following a health and safety assessment, we have decided to act and our staff in Mātauranga House have been asked to work from home."
Despite the change in working arrangements for Mātauranga House staff, it was business as usual, alongside Te Mahau (regional) offices across the country, she said.
"We have allowed until the end of day Monday 30 May for staff to make the transition to remote working. We expect our staff will work from home until September while we plan our longer-term working arrangements.
"We will keep our staff updated and connected throughout the process as we develop our future national office accommodation plans."