Page 5602 - Week 14 - Thursday, 30 November 2017

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(6) Are there any plans to provide additional meeting space for small gatherings; if not, why not; if so, where will the space/s be located and when will it be available for use.

(7) Are there plans to provide a hot desking office space for use by local organisations that have need of office facilities; if not, what other measures are being, or will be undertaken to support local organisations that are financially struggling and require office space and facilities; if so, when will this space be available for use.

(8) Is a refundable cleaning deposit of $200 a mandatory charge for all room bookings; if not, by what criteria will Centre management request a cleaning deposit.

(9) What other guidelines and procedures are in place to ensure that rooms (including kitchen) in the Centre for hire are kept clean and tidy.

Ms Stephen-Smith: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) The ACT Office for Multicultural Affairs within the Community Services Directorate has responsibility for daily management of the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre. The tenants rent office space in the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre and each of their roles and responsibilities are clearly documented in individually signed Licence Agreements. There is no tenant management committee as each Licence Agreement is signed by an individual tenants.

(2) The ACT Office for Multicultural Affairs is currently assessing the use of office space in the Centre following the relocation of a number of Directorate teams to the Moore St office. A tenant and multicultural community survey has recently been conducted to determine need for office, event and meeting space. Results of the survey are now being analysed to help inform future use of the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre. The next step is to conduct a community session on survey findings and receive final community feedback.

(3) The Community Services Directorate provides support on week days to ensure the Centre runs smoothly. Briefings for event organisers are held prior to events on weekends. The Directorate is currently preparing updated Tenant Licence Agreements to ensure after hours contact details for tenant assistance are clearly documented as well as during business hours. After hours assistance is limited to emergencies as documented in the License Agreement. The Community Services Directorate does not provided staff during weekends or after hours to assist community organisations in event management.

(4) A total of 38 hours per week on average over the past 12 months.

(5) A total of 466 bookings was made last financial year.

(a) 12 bookings were denied due to room unavailability.

(b) 8 bookings were rescheduled.

(6) This is currently the subject of community consultation. Please refer to the response to (2) above.

(7) Support for local organisations has been considered in the community and tenant survey recently undertaken by the ACT Office for Multicultural Affairs.

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