Membership is open to residents of the City of Greater Bendigo. There are different options for memberships; yearly or short term/individual or organisation.
Annual memberships
Small (can borrow 3 toys + 1 game or puzzle at a time) $60 ($50 concession)
Large (can borrow 6 toys + 2 games or puzzles at a time) $75 ($60 concession)
Members can choose if they would like to have a large or small membership regardless of how many children they have. If a member is joining before their baby is 8 months old, they will receive 18 months membership for the price of 12 months.
Committee members receive a 50% discount on annual fees.
Short term memberships
Short term membership for a 3 month period (can borrow 3 toys at a time and can borrow party packs) $45. This membership type can not be renewed within a calendar year. No roster contribution is required.
Grandparents/carers membership
Grandparents/carers membership for a 1 month period (can borrow 3 toys + 1 game or puzzle at a time - no party packs) $30. This membership type can be utilised on multiple occasions, but not for consecutive months.
EFT Banking Details
BSB: 633 108 Acc: 053 104 816 Ref: Your Surname
As a member of the Toy Library you are required to volunteer at duty sessions, with a minimum of four per year. Alternatively members can choose not to volunteer by paying a Roster Levy of $100 per year in addition to your membership fees.
4.1
Current hours of opening:
Thursday 9:30am - 11:00am
Saturday 9.30am - 12:30pm
4.2
Opening times may change each term- social media provides the most up to date opening times. Each member is entitled to borrow toys for a maximum of 3 weeks. The borrowing period can be extended, by a further 3 weeks, members can do this by logging into their Mibase account and extending the borrowing period or contacting Toy Library to request extension. Gold Star toys are excluded from renewal due to their high popularity.
4.3
Members with toys overdue by more than 2 weeks will be contacted by a committee member and asked for the toys to be returned. If toys are not returned, next measures will be discussed at the next committee meeting.
4.4
Once a toy is borrowed it is the member’s responsibility. Members must thoroughly check the toy before leaving the library, and count all the pieces. If pieces are missing and are not noted at the time of borrowing, that member may be liable. Toys are to be returned in a clean condition.
4.5
The Toy Library has party packs for different ages which are available for members to hire. Members will need to book in advance. The party packs have specific borrowing days and times. Members can speak with the Toy Library committee for more information.
5.1.
Lost Pieces: Fines may be applied for missing pieces at the discretion of the committee.
5.2
Lost Toys: Members are required to pay the replacement value for whole toys that are lost or damaged and unplayable. We realise toys will be broken through reasonable/expected wear and tear. Should a toy be broken while in a member's care, that member must report it. If toys are missing significant pieces you may be asked to continue your loan period of that toy until all pieces can be returned.
6.1.
Members are expected to treat Toy Library toys with all reasonable care. Please return the toys in their containers or bags. We strongly suggest Toy Library toys are kept separate from your own toys and packed away after each use to avoid loss or damage.
No toys should be left outside, this includes slides, climbing frames and cars.
6.2
All toys and containers must be returned in a clean condition and a Committee person reserves the right to
6.3
insist the toys be cleaned by the member on the spot or taken away to be cleaned and returned on the next opening session.
7.1.
The Toy Library is run by its members. It is a condition of membership to complete roster duties. This is the only way the Library is able to operate. General Members will ALWAYS be rostered on with a Committee person.
Members will be asked to nominate a preferred day to do duty and the roster is always shared in the email
7.2
newsletter. It is the member's responsibility to know when they are rostered on to do duty. If a member is unable to complete their rostered duty it is their responsibility to contact the roster coordinator. If a member does not show for their rostered duty, fines may apply, this is at the discretion of the committee.
An alternative for families who are not able to commit to this requirement is to pay a $100 roster levy in addition to membership fees. Please speak to a committee member if there are barriers to volunteering.
There is no age limit for members of the Toy Library however our toys are targeted at a developmental age of 0-6 years.
If you have any complaints, problems or comments/ suggestions, you should direct these to the committee member on duty or to the President.
We aim to make the Bendigo Community Toy Library a friendly and pleasant place, so please be involved at whatever level you can. We are always looking for new committee members. Please enjoy the wide range of toys available to 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.
By providing my email address upon sign up I agree to be contactable by the Toy Library by email. I am able to opt out of this at any time but I understand that by doing so I may not be advised of important information relating to the toy library.
The 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.
The Provider does not provide protective clothing or bicycle helmets and 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.
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:
(a) 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
(b) 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.
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.
Parent Name:……………………………………………………………………………………
Parent Signature: ………………………………………………………………………………
Date: ……………………………..
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.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
Our organisation takes our legal responsibilities seriously, including:
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).
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.
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: