Senior executives at a pesticides agency being forcibly moved to the electorate of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce are working from a fast food restaurant as they search for a temporary office.
A dozen staff at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority were due to move to regional NSW in March, but their hunt for Armidale real estate continues.
"We need a base rather than sitting in McDonald's using their free wi-fi," chief executive Kareena Arthy told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.
"It (the office) is there really as a practical basis for the APVMA staff who go to Armidale, because honestly, we sit in McDonald's to do our work."
Asked if she would be hosting a grand opening when the temporary office finally opens, Ms Arthy told senators: "We might have a cup of tea and an Iced VoVo."
It has also emerged the agency will need to construct an entirely new building for its Armidale base, with existing options either too small or in need of too much refurbishment.
"There is no current site in Armidale that's suitable for an organisation our size so we are going to have to build," Ms Arthy told senators.
It remains unclear how much the new facility will cost, with the relocation manager due to start next week.
Meanwhile, the pesticides agency is rapidly shedding staff and struggling to recruit replacements.
Some 48 people have left since July, including 20 regulatory scientists.
Ms Arthy said there was overwhelming anecdotal evidence the exodus is due to uncertainty over the agency's future, regardless of incentives people have been offered to stay.
Many of those who had left have young families and wanted to stay in Canberra, while others have simply been offered "better" jobs.
"But overwhelmingly when we talk to people it's just purely they've made the decision they don't want to move to Armidale," Ms Arthy said.
"They don't want to work remotely, which is one of the offers I have made for regulatory scientists, and they want to provide certainty and security for their families now."
The biggest risk of the agency's forced relocation is losing regulatory scientists - the vast majority of whom have indicated they won't move.
"If I don't have regulatory scientists I basically can't do the applications," Ms Arthy said.
These scientists could work remotely, but this would require the agency's IT systems to be completely rebuilt.
Other staff have been offered incentives, including a year's worth of return flights to Canberra and a 15 per cent "top-up" to their salaries.
But still, recruitment is proving incredibly challenging, even as Ms Arthy looks abroad to find qualified staff.
