It comes as the government prepares to hold half its cabinet meetings at the Public Buildings site on St John Street this year.

The Treasury and Finance Department, which acts as the landlord for the Public Buildings, said it had brought forward "some planned maintenance works" through the COVID-19 Public Buildings Maintenance Fund, which was designed as a government stimulus response to the pandemic.

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A spokesperson said the procurement process began in mid-2020 and that the works started in October. They are expected to be completed by June this year.

"Works undertaken and in progress include a new air-conditioning system, security system upgrade, bathroom upgrades (including accessibility improvements), painting and carpet replacement," they said.

The anticipated total cost of the works is about $1.05 million. The air-conditioning cost $377,762, the bathroom upgrades $208,956 and the carpet replacement $227,210.

The Premier and Cabinet Department said "technological equipment" had also been purchased for the offices, and furniture had been "repurposed".

Bass Labor MHA Michelle O'Byrne said she "honestly can't believe" that the works were approved in the midst of the pandemic.

"It is a substantial amount of money in a time when we've got nearly 4000 people with nowhere to stay," she said.

Ms O'Byrne acknowledged the Public Buildings were "old" but said that when Labor was in government, it didn't spend "a lot of money" on the site beyond remediation work and "the odd repair".

"If one of your choices [as a government] is to not fit out empty Housing Tasmania homes and leaving people homeless and ... you [also] make a choice to spend millions of dollars tarting up your offices, I think that's pretty offensive," she said.

A government spokesperson said there was an ongoing maintenance regime for all government buildings to ensure they remained "appropriate, safe and fit for use".

"[The Public Buildings] works have included a number of important health and safety measures, including asbestos removal and uncovered drains being fixed, as well as building system upgrades including to ensure national security requirements are met to enable participation in national meetings," the spokesperson said.

"The establishment of the [COVID-19 Public Buildings Maintenance Fund] was, in fact, supported by Michelle O'Byrne in the parliament, so she should explain why she has reversed her position and now opposes this work for local contractors being managed by state servants."

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