Bendigo Community Toy Library

Bendigo Community Toy Library

Terms and conditions of membership

Contact details

Phone: 0439 504 857
Email: toys@bendigotoylibrary.org.au
Address: 156 Spring Gully Road, Spring Gully (corner of Kendall St)

1. Membership

Membership is open to residents of the City of Greater Bendigo.

We offer flexible membership options to suit families, carers and organisations.

Members may choose a membership level regardless of the number of children in the household.

There is no age restriction for membership. Most toys are suitable for children aged 0-6 years.

2. Membership fees

2.1 Annual memberships

Small membership

  • Borrow up to 3 toys + 1 game/puzzle
  • $60 per year ($50 concession)
  • Roster contribution required (volunteering or roster levy)

Large membership

  • Borrow up to 6 toys + 2 games/puzzles
  • $75 per year ($60 concession)
  • Roster contribution required (volunteering or roster levy)

Special offers

  • Babies joining before 12 months: 18 months for the price of 12
  • Committee members: 50% membership discount, free party pack hire, key to the toy library for access anytime

2.2 Organisation membership

For Family Day Care, Allied Health and similar services:

  • Borrow up to 6 toys + 2 games/puzzles
  • $100 per year
  • Roster contribution required (volunteering or roster levy)

2.3 Short-term memberships

3-month membership

  • Borrow up to 3 toys + 1 game/puzzle
  • Can hire party packs and hire toys
  • $45
  • Not renewable within 12 months of membership end date
  • No roster contribution required

Grandparent/carer membership (1 month)

  • Borrow up to 3 toys + 1 game/puzzle
  • $30
  • Can be used multiple times, but not in consecutive months
  • No roster contribution required

Foster carers

We understand that caring arrangements can change. Your membership can be activated or paused depending on the children in your care. Please contact us to discuss what works best for you.

2.4 Payment details

The Bendigo Community Toy Library is cashless. Payments can be made via bank transfer with no additional fees, or by card in the library (surcharge applies).

BSB: 633 000
Acc: 531 048 16
Ref: Your surname or organisation name

3. Roster contribution

The Toy Library is volunteer-run. Member participation helps keep it running.

Requirement

  • Annual members complete 4 roster duties per year (approximately 1 duty every 3 months, 6 hours total)

OR

  • Pay the roster levy (see below)

Roster expectations

  • We are family-focused - children are welcome to attend duties with you
  • Members are always rostered alongside a committee member
  • Roster dates are shared via email newsletter
  • Members are responsible for tracking their own duties
  • If you cannot personally attend, we encourage you to ask a family member or friend to take your place
  • To arrange a swap, contact the roster coordinator

If duties are missed, a fee may apply at committee discretion.

If required duties are not completed by the end of your membership year, you will not be able to renew until duties are completed or the roster levy is paid pro rata for incomplete duties.

Roster levy option

We understand some members may be unable to volunteer due to personal circumstances. The roster levy is available as an alternative in these cases.

Volunteering can be completed during opening hours and may also be arranged at other times, including evenings or weekends. Opportunities may include garden maintenance, cleaning, toy repair or take-home tasks such as toy cleaning.

  • Standard roster levy: $160 per year (in addition to membership fees)

This fee reflects the approximate cost of replacing member volunteer hours required to support the running of the Toy Library.

4. Borrowing terms and conditions

Opening hours

  • Tuesdays (Inclusive Sessions): 9:30am - 11:30am
  • Thursdays: 9:30am - 11:00am
  • Saturdays: 9:30am - 12:30pm

Opening hours may change. Please check our social media for updates. We always close on long weekends and public holidays. Borrowing is suspended over the December/January holidays for stocktake and cleaning.

Loan period

  • Standard loan: 3 weeks. Members can visit as often as they wish.
  • One renewal available for most toys (additional 3 weeks)
  • Renew via MiBase or contact the Toy Library
  • Gold Star toys cannot be renewed

Overdue items

  • Items overdue by more than 2 weeks will be followed up
  • Ongoing issues may be reviewed by the committee

Party packs and hire toys

  • Available for hire (booking required)
  • Contact the committee for details

5. Toy care and member responsibility

While toys are on loan, members are responsible for their care and return condition.

Before leaving the Toy Library

  • Check all items and pieces carefully
  • Report any missing or damaged parts immediately

Care during loan period

  • Use toys safely and responsibly
  • Store toys safely after use
  • Return items in their original containers or bags
  • Do not leave toys outdoors (including ride-ons, slides and climbing equipment)
  • We strongly recommend keeping Toy Library items separate from personal toys

Cleaning requirements

All toys must be returned clean and complete. The committee may request cleaning on-site or ask members to take items home and return them clean at the next session.

6. Lost, damaged or missing items

  • Members are responsible for all items while on loan
  • Missing or damaged items must be reported as soon as possible
  • Lost pieces: a fine may apply at committee discretion. Any fine is refunded if the piece is found and returned.
  • Lost toys: members are required to pay the replacement value. One month's grace is given to locate the toy.
  • Damaged toys: reasonable wear and tear is expected and accepted. If a toy is broken while in your care, please report it.
  • The committee may ask members to retain items until missing parts are found, particularly where the toy is not playable without them.

7. Community participation and communication

We are a welcoming, community-focused organisation. We aim to make the Bendigo Community Toy Library a friendly and pleasant place - please get involved at whatever level you can.

Members are encouraged to:

Please enjoy the wide range of toys available for your children and enjoy seeing them grow, learn and develop with the help of the toys, games and puzzles from the Bendigo Community Toy Library.

Email communication consent

By providing your email address, you agree to receive Toy Library updates and communications. You may opt out at any time, however this may result in missing important information.

Correct as at June 2026


Waiver, release and indemnity for bicycles and scooters

Bendigo Community Toy Library ("Provider") is pleased to make bicycles and scooters available to subscribers ("the Service").

As a subscriber to the Service you acknowledge that there are dangers and risks inherent with bicycle and scooter riding ("the Activity") to which any child under your supervision ("Your Child") may be exposed.

Your responsibilities

The Provider does not provide protective clothing or bicycle helmets. It is your responsibility to ensure that Your Child wears a helmet at all times and is otherwise appropriately attired when participating in the Activity.

You agree that Your Child will participate in the Activity at your own risk. You also agree to voluntarily assume responsibility for supervising the Activity and any injury, death or property damage you or Your Child may suffer or cause as a result of participating in the Activity.

Release and indemnity

To the maximum extent possible at law, you (both in your personal capacity and on behalf of Your Child) agree to release, hold harmless and indemnify the Provider and its respective officers, employees, servants, agents and contractors ("the Indemnified Persons") against all actions, claims, suits, costs, expenses, demands and damages suffered or incurred by the Indemnified Persons or any one or more of them by reason of, or in respect of, or in any manner whatsoever arising out of, or caused by, your use of the Service or Your Child's participation in the Activity.

You agree that you are subscribing to the Service on the express condition that the Provider:

  • will, under no circumstances be liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any death, loss, accident, damage or injury to you, Your Child or any of your servants, agents, contractors, visitors or invitees or any other person whatsoever ("Related Party") which may happen as a result of your use of the Service or Your Child participating in the Activity; and
  • will not incur or be under any liability whatsoever to you, Your Child, or to any Related Party for any loss, damage or injury to or in respect of any of your property or of any Related Party's property.

Limitation of liability

The Provider is not liable to you, Your Child or any Related Party in respect of any indirect or consequential loss. For the avoidance of doubt, "consequential loss" means loss or damage arising from a breach of contract, tort (including negligence), under statute or any other basis in law or equity of an indirect or consequential nature including, but without limitation, loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss or denial of opportunity, loss of goodwill, loss of business reputation, future reputation or publicity, damage to credit rating and indirect, remote, abnormal or unforeseeable loss, or any similar loss whether or not in the reasonable contemplation of the parties.


Child Safe Policy and Statement of Commitment

Our commitment to child safety

Our organisation is committed to child safety. 

We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. 

We are committed to the safety of all children.

We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.

We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously. 

Our organisation has robust recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers.

We have policies, procedures and education in place that support our staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments. 

If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000. 

Our staff and volunteers

This policy guides our staff and volunteers on how to behave with children in our organisation. 

Children should never be left unsupervised in the care of toy library staff or volunteers. Parents/guardians should always supervise their children at the toy library. Wherever feasible toy libraries should implement the ‘two-person rule’ – ensuring there are two people present when the toy library is open.

All of our staff and volunteers must agree to abide by our code of conduct, which specifies the standards of conduct required when working with children. 

Our organisational culture aims for all staff and volunteers to feel confident and comfortable in discussing any allegations of child abuse or child safety concerns. Education is important to ensure that everyone in our organisation understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.  All staff receives training on our code of conduct.

Any inappropriate behaviour will be reported through appropriate channels, including the relevant government department or police, depending on the severity and urgency of the matter.

Training and supervision

Training and education is important to ensure that everyone in our organisation understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility. 

Our organisational culture aims for all staff and volunteers (in addition to parents/carers and children) to feel confident and comfortable in discussing any allegations of child abuse or child safety concerns. We train our staff to identify, assess, and minimise risks of child abuse and to detect potential signs of child abuse. 

New employees and volunteers will be supervised regularly to ensure they understand our organisation’s commitment to child safety and that everyone has a role to play in protecting children from abuse, as well as checking that their behaviour towards children is safe and appropriate (please refer to this organisation’s code of conduct to understand appropriate behaviour further). Any inappropriate behaviour will be reported through appropriate channels, including the, relevant government department or police depending on the severity and urgency of the matter.

Recruitment

We take all reasonable steps to employ appropriately skilled people to work with our members. We develop selection criteria that clearly demonstrate our commitment to child safety and an awareness of our social and legislative responsibilities. 

We carry out reference checks and working with children checks for any paid staff members to ensure that we are recruiting the right people. Please see the Working with Children Check website for further information 

Fair procedures for personnel

The safety and wellbeing of members is our primary concern. We are also fair and just to personnel. The decisions we make when recruiting, assessing incidents, and undertaking disciplinary action will always be thorough, transparent, and based on evidence. 

We record all allegations of abuse and safety concerns using our incident reporting form, including investigation updates. All records are securely stored. 

If an allegation of abuse or a safety concern is raised, we provide updates to children and families on progress and any actions we as an organisation take. 

Privacy

All personal information considered or recorded will respect the privacy of the individuals involved, whether they are staff, volunteers, parents or children, unless there is a risk to someone’s safety. We have safeguards and practices in place to ensure any personal information is protected. Everyone is entitled to know how this information is recorded, what will be done with it, and who will have access to it. 

Legislative responsibilities

Our organisation takes our legal responsibilities seriously, including:

  • Failure to disclose: Reporting child sexual abuse is a community-wide responsibility. All adults in Victoria who have a reasonable belief that an adult has committed a sexual offence against a child under 16 have an obligation to report that information to the police.
  • Failure to protect: People of authority in our organisation will commit an offence if they know of a substantial risk of child sexual abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently fail to do so.
    • Any personnel who are mandatory reporters must comply with their duties. 

Risk management

In Victoria, organisations are required to protect children when a risk is identified (see information about failure to protect above). In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children.

We have risk management strategies in place to identify, assess, and take steps to minimise child abuse risks, which include risks posed by physical environments (for example, any doors that can lock), and online environments (for example, no staff or volunteer is to have contact with a child in the organisation on social media). 

Regular review

This policy will be reviewed every two years and following significant incidents if they occur. We will ensure that families and children have the opportunity to contribute. Where possible we do our best to work with local Aboriginal communities, culturally and/or linguistically diverse communities and people with a disability. 

Allegations, concerns and complaints

Our organisation takes all allegations seriously and has practices in place to investigate thoroughly and quickly. 

We work to ensure all families, staff and volunteers know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or are a victim, and if they notice inappropriate behaviour. 

We all have a responsibility to report an allegation of abuse if we have a reasonable belief that an incident took place (see information about failure to disclose above).

If an adult has a reasonable belief that an incident has occurred then they must report the incident. Factors contributing to reasonable belief may be:

  • A child states they or someone they know has been abused (noting that sometimes the child may in fact be referring to themselves)
  • Behaviour consistent with that of an abuse victim is observed
  • Someone else has raised a suspicion of abuse but is unwilling to report it
  • Observing suspicious behaviour.