City of Melbourne

• Midsumma at Meatmarket - From 31 January, catch three extraordinary live stage shows at Meat Market Stables celebrating queer culture. Visit the website for details and tickets.
• What’sOn Melbourne - Find all the events in Melbourne this month.

• Women’s Only Fitness Programs. Join low-cost wellness sessions hosted in culturally safe spaces: Wednesdays 7-8pm women’s only fitness at Carlton Baths Gym | Fridays 10-11am women’s only gym at North Melbourne Community Centre | women's only swim 2-4pm Saturday + swim lessons. For more information, contact Paula Butcher on 0459 988 192 or paula.butcher@ymca.org.au.
• Tech Connect - access free tech help for older people with trained helpers. Learn about using your mobile, laptop or tablet. Weekly sessions run in North Melbourne, Kensington and South Yarra.
• Chatty Cafe - is our social connection program running weekly on Thursdays from 1-3pm at Kensington Neighbourhood Centre. Connect, relax, and have a chat! All welcome, light afternoon tea provided. No bookings required.
• ArtPlay - City of Melbourne's creative space for children up to 13. Explore and create arts experiences that encourage self-expression and playful exchange.
• Signal - City of Melbourne's creative studio for young people aged 14 to 25 years. Find out about workshops, exhibitions, installations, live events and performances.
• Library programs – find out more about events, book clubs, children’s programs, and exhibitions at our libraries.
• Getting immunised - free and paid immunisation services via our regular community immunisation sessions.
• Playgroups - for children under 6. We are inclusive of all families. Find out more and join.
• Need Toys? Did you know, City of Melbourne Libraries members can now borrow toys from our dedicated toy libraries at The Chapel in Carlton and Hotham Hub in North Melbourne? Find out more.
• Welcoming New Families to Melbourne - are you and your family new to living in the City of Melbourne? Do you want to learn more about many free services available to you and your family? Come along to our free information and playgroup sessions.

Other

• Run with us - a community of runners meeting every Sunday for a 10 kilometre run starting at the Malthouse.
• Melbourne Men’s shed offers a space for men to meet and do a range of activities from woodwork to cooking classes.
• Pop into the Gig Workers Hub for delivery riders and rideshare driver communities to get support, free food and drink, access toilets, charging points and more. Open 2pm to 5pm, Thursdays and Sundays. At Micro-Labs. 227-229 Bourke St, Melbourne.
• Mamma Ball is a women’s basketball skills and fitness program led by Deakin Melbourne Boomers WNBL players and coaches, with sessions aimed at beginners to seasoned veterans. Thursdays 9.30-10.30am at Melbourne Sports Centre Parkville. Free but registration required.
• HuddleUp Women’s Workouts. Low impact workouts for women of all ages. Every Thursday 12-1pm at Carlton Baths. For more information, contact Mariam at mariam.taleb@nmfc.com.au.
• Dadfit is a program focused on connecting dads. Every Thursday 7-9pm, online.

City of Melbourne

• A new park for Kensington - In 2021, the City of Melbourne purchased 70-90 Chelmsford Street in Kensington for the purpose of creating more public open space for the community, and advancing opportunities to improve Moonee Ponds Creek. Help inform the design and development on our proposed vision.
• Read the latest media releases, newsletters and public notices from the City of Melbourne.

Other

• Public housing towers redevelopment - Stay up to date with information relating to the proposed redevelopment high-rise public housing buildings in North Melbourne and Carlton by visiting the Homes Victoria website and signing-up for project updates or contact the team directly by calling 1800 716 866 or emailing enquiries@homes.vic.gov.au.
• Metro Tunnel construction updates – Find out the latest updates on the Metro Tunnel construction works. You can register your email address to receive work notices electronically, according to your location of interest: Current Metro Tunnel works - Victoria’s Big Build.
• West Gate Tunnel - Keep up to date with the West Gate Tunnel construction, works notification and road closures and detours: West Gate Tunnel Project - Victoria’s Big Build.
• Visit Engage Victoria to discover and access Victorian government consultations, share ideas and have your say about what matters to you.
• In preparing for the next steps at Fishermans Bend, the Department of Transport and Planning has developed a draft Montague Precinct Implementation Plan and draft Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area Development Contributions Plan. These are now open for public feedback.

City of Melbourne

• Meeting places for ATSI groups - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations can now book meeting rooms, performance spaces, recording studios and creative technology makerspaces with no-cost at all our Libraries and Community Hubs.

Other

• Donate toys & food - please drop-off any new toys and non-perishable food items by 13 December to Melbourne North Police Station, 36 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne. All donated items are passed onto local agencies to distribute to families in need over the holidays, including the Venny and Ronald McDonald House. For more information contact Leading Senior Constable Nick Parissis on 8379 0800 | nektarios.parissis@police.vic.gov.au
• Home internet for students - Families can now directly self-nominate for the School Student Broadband Initiative to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 unconnected families with school age students. Eligibility: have a child living at home that is enrolled in school, do not have active broadband service over the NBN network, but your property can access a standard NBN service. Contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm AEDT), or visiting the website.
• Survey for migrant workers - The Migrant Workers Centre is conducting its Annual Survey to better understand the opportunities and challenges related to migrating to Australia. If you are aged 18 or older and have migrated to Australia to live, work or study please share your experiences and insights as part of the anonymous 15-minute survey, and go into the draw to win one of 10x $100 Gift cards.
• Student discounts - With just the flash of a student card, you can score epic discounts. Cheap feasts, coffee deals and free or discounted entry to some of Melbourne’s best attractions.
• Organisations that use land for community benefit are eligible for a rebate off their water bills ($260 a year). Find out more.
  
• The Victorian Government’s Small Business Bus can help you to develop your business ideas and capabilities. Book a session and discover how the Small Business Bus can help you plan, start or grow your business. Visit business.vic.gov.au/sbb or call the Business Victoria Contact Centre on 13 22 15.
• Visit the Money Smart website to find information on financial hardship support services.
• Good Money Stores provide safe, affordable and responsible financial services for people on low incomes.
• ATO Tax Help Program – Free assistance in lodging tax returns for people earning $60,000 or less. You can make an appointment with an accredited volunteer through the ATO website.
• Having money troubles? The Salvation Army can provide additional resources and help.

City of Melbourne

• Connected Neighbourhoods small grants – Apply for up to $2000 to make your neighbourhood even more liveable. Assessed monthly, we encourage community organisations as well as individuals to submit their project ideas today.
• Urban Forest Fund - Apply for an Urban Forest Fund grant by 31 January to support greening of private buildings. This year, we’re offering matched-funding grants under two streams: high-impact greening grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, and laneway greening grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. Head to melbourne.vic.gov.au/urbanforestfund for more information.
• Heritage grants - Have you been thinking about or planning a project to transform your heritage building? If it is in City of Melbourne, in a heritage overlay and needs a makeover, big or small, consider applying. A little restoration work can go a long way to transforming your building and keeping it in great condition for years to come.
• Inclusive sport and recreation grants are delivered by the City of Melbourne to provide opportunities for children and young people to participate in community sport and to support individuals participating at an elite level to achieve their sporting goals. Individuals and groups may be eligible to apply for up to $1000.
• The community use of town halls scheme (CUTHS) - allows not-for-profit community organisations to apply for in-kind support for the use of the Melbourne Town Hall, the Meat Market in North Melbourne or Kensington Town Hall.

Other

• Social work scholarships - DFFH are trying to help reduce the financial burden of social work placements for existing students, so you can complete your studies and start your career sooner! Eligible tertiary students can apply for $7,500 to help them complete their placement. Apply by midnight 10 December, for student placements commencing 1 January - 30 June 2024.
• RMIT Language interpreter scholarships - Are you considering the following courses in 2024: Diploma of Interpreting | Advanced Diploma of Interpreting; or Introduction to Interpreting Skill Set in Arabic, Greek, Italian and Persian, Burmese, Dari, Dinka, Samoan, S’gaw Karen and Somali, Albanian, Bangla, Chichewa, Hakha Chin, Hakka Chinese, Hazaraghi, Hmong, Kirundi, Kurdish Kurmanji, Lingala, Macedonian, Nuer, Pashto, Rohingya and Ukrainian? Apply by 31 January for a possible RMIT scholarship. See the website for details.
• The Awesome Foundation - Making our world more awesome $1,000 at a time. Applications are open to all awesome projects in the greater Melbourne area. We are an active chapter which awards a $1,000 grant on the last Tuesday of each month (submissions close 12pm on the Sunday prior).
• SilverChef Community Grants Program - Open to eligible Australian community groups that use hospitality or food services to help disadvantaged or under-served members of their local community. Each quarter we award four grants of $5,000 each. Each $5,000 grant is a 75:25 mix of equipment and cash.
• Australian Government grants – Visit the Community Grants Hub to access information on community focused grant programs currently open for applications.
• Business grants and programs – Business Victoria offers an array of grants and programs to businesses.
• Everyday Legal Grants - these grants help community legal organisations and not-for-profit community groups deliver projects that support community needs and improve understanding of the justice system. These grants are likely to fund: one-off projects addressing legal issues for a specific community or an area of law OR pilot projects offering new approaches to delivering legal information. Grants are available up to $5000.

City of Melbourne

• Council volunteer vacancies - browse the latest volunteer opportunities with City of Melbourne to work across tourism, events, libraries, Gardens for Wildlife, and in our positive aging programs.

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Other

• Homework club tutor - Hotham Mission is seeking volunteer tutors to support local students as part of its weekly Homework Clubs. Contact joey.rebakis@hothammission.org.au to express your interest.
• Animal Shelter helpers - Lort Smith Animal Hospital & Shelter in North Melbourne is currently advertising 4x volunteer vacancies:
  • Concierge
  • Pet therapy
  • Laundry
  • Pet foster care
• Driving mentor - Do you hold a full licence, a satisfactory driving history, and have 1-2 hours per week to support a young person, who may find it difficult to achieve their drivers licence? Apply to become a mentor with Drive for Life program.
• Westgate Park – Volunteer to look after Westgate Park (planting, weeding, mulching, cleaning up and general gardening). In addition to main days on Mondays and Wednesdays, the group resumed volunteering on the third Sunday of each month – 10am to 2pm.
• Docklands Repair Café is all about neighbours helping neighbours. Whether it's electrical and mechanical repairs, wood, toys, electronics, bikes, sewing and textiles, or just helping out on the day, we’re always looking for community members to come down and join in.
• Volunteer with your resident groups.
• Volunteering Victoria provides information about opportunities across animal welfare, arts and culture, community services, disaster relief, sport, environment and much more.

City of Melbourne

• Learn with City of Melbourne Libraries. Whether you want to learn another language, pick up a new skill or attend a workshop, Melbourne Library Service has a range of online learning platforms, books, eResources, one on one support and more.

Other

• Measuring social impact - Seedkit is a new, self-managed reporting platform designed to support social enterprises to measure, track and communicate operations and impacts via customised dashboards and reports. Watch a recorded webinar for details.
• Make-up class - Interested in levelling up your make-up skills? Want to learn new techniques, tips, and tricks? Join the Huddle for a FREE weekly make-up class! Every Tuesday, 6.30pm - 8.30pm, North Melbourne Community Centre – Games Room. Female only, aged 14-25. For further information contact Nor Shanino.

City of Melbourne

Visit City of Melbourne's online careers portal for role details and to apply for one of our positions.

City of Melbourne

• Wellbeing and Connection Map - a dynamic visual tool to help you find activities, services and initiatives that support social connection and
  inclusion in your local neighbourhood.
• City Drug Support Flyer - know who to contact if someone is experiencing difficulties with drug use and associated health issues.
• Community Food Guide - information on how to access affordable, fresh and healthy food.
• Helping Out Guide - Our updated guide lists more than 90 organisations in the central city and surrounding suburbs offering range of services for people experiencing crisis.
• Kitchen compost caddy - Residents living in single unit dwellings can order their free kitchen caddy and liners to be delivered by our team.
• Bins and collections - Avoid the guessing game with our waste calendar of pick-up days.

Other

• Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping social cohesion 2023 report - Check out the latest analysis of this important index: Mapping Social Cohesion. “Australians have remained remarkably resilient, however findings reveal our social cohesion is under pressure and declining on several fronts, straining the fabric of our communities”.
• Crisis in crisis accommodation - 300 people per day in Australia are turned away from crisis accommodation. A new report for AHURI highlights the urgent need for improvement and gives recommendations for policy development.
• Reporting racism - If you ever experience or witness racism, which can’t lead to practical action, you can report to VEOHRC.
• Young and multicultural Victoria 2021 Census - Centre for Multicultural Youth report, follows on from 2016 Census report exploring what the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing can tell us about young Victorians from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This incredibly diverse cohort make up almost half of Victoria’s youth population, yet are often poorly reflected in key data and reporting.
• Respect@Work legislation - New Respect@Work legislation requires all employers to take active measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. To support employers to understand and meet their obligations, we have added two new factsheets to our resources on the positive duty.
  
• VCOSS Mapping poverty in Victoria - VCOSS have released a comprehensive data and interactive mapping report on poverty across Victoria. They have analysed the rates but also the characteristics of poverty for different groups of people, right down to the local level (LGA's). Find out more.
• Talk About It guide - The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) have released a guide for parents and carers that provides tips for having tricky conversations around alcohol and other drugs. They've pulled together the latest info and advice to help you start the conversation and be clear on all the facts – from vaping, safer partying and social media, to the law. Read the full guide.
• Anika Legal's Rental Information Hub – Access a range of resources about rental rights from documents renters receive when moving in, to how to recover your bond after leaving.
• Multicultural Health Connect – Get health information and advice in your language. Visit Healthdirect for more information about this service.
• Get Asthma ready with an Asthma action plan -Grass pollen season (October through to December) brings the chance of thunderstorm asthma.