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    Repair Café

    Please join us at our next Waverley Repair Café!


    Repair Cafe will return to Waverley in 2025.

    Details on where and when the Repair Cafe will pop up in 2025 will be shared here and also through Waverley Council's newsletter.

    Repair Cafe is a free, Council-orgainsed meet-up where locals can bring broken items for volunteers to fix. It helps to keep items in use longer and out of landfill, and also helps build community connections. Everyone is welcome and repairs are offered for the following items -

    • Clothing/textiles mending and sewing
    • Small electrical appliances
    • Bicycles
    • Furniture/wooden objects and basic carpentry
    • Knife sharpening
    • Books binding
    • Costume jewellery and watches
    • Toys
    • Free Tag and Test service - provided by a qualified Tag and Tester

    Please note: The Repair Cafe is staffed by volunteer repairers, and therefore we cannot guarantee that we will be able to repair all items.  Please bring your item in for an assessment to find out if it can be repaired.

    The Reconnect Project Donation Drive:

    Repair Cafe has partnered with The Reconnect Project to run device drives, this means you can bring your used (and no longer needed) devices on the day!

    The Reconnect Project distributes refurbished mobile devices to people in need through women's shelters, refugee support services, at-risk youth outreach programs, and other social service agencies.

    reconnect donation drive poster



    How will the Repair Café work?

    • The Café operates on a first come, first served basis. We don't take bookings for a repair prior to the event.
    • On arrival you’ll be greeted by a volunteer who will ask you to complete a form to explain what is wrong with your item.
    • A volunteer will then provide you with a time slot to see the repair station appropriate for your item.  
      • Your allocated time slot might be later in the day and so you might choose to wait or even come back later at your allocated time. If we can see you sooner, we’ll contact you to let you know.
    • At your allocated time, the repairer will examine your item and start working on the repair.
    • If we can’t repair your item, we’ll do our best to give you advice on what you can do, and we’ll give your item back to you to take home.
    • We hope to be able to repair all items that present at the Repair Café, so please be patient whilst we try.

    The repair café is a free service for our community, provided by volunteers. Donations are welcome to help to keep the café operating.

    We encourage you to come along and bring something you’d like repaired, or just drop in and say hello and support this great community initiative!!

    What will we accept as a repair item?

    The café will only accept items for assessment that can be carried to the café by one person. This means we won't accept white goods or large bulky items.

    What happens if you can’t repair my item?

    Whilst our Volunteer Repairers will do their best to repair everything that is brought to them, they may not have the skills, experience or materials available to complete all repairs. If we can’t fix your item you’ll need to take it away with you.

    You can't donate or leave items at the Repair Café, even items that are working cannot be donated.

    I'm not sure if you will be able to repair my electrical item?

    If an item can be opened up then there's a good chance the repairers will be able to determine what is wrong with it and assess if it can be repaired.  It is usually easy to determine yourself if an item can be opened, if you can see the item has screws or other fasteners visible on the outside that can be undone.  

    Some electrical items are manufactured in a way which is designed so that they cannot be opened after manufacturing, which means our volunteers may not be able to open them for assessment.  In these situations it's likely your item will not be able to be repaired. We do not encourage the opening of electrical items yourself, unless you are qualified to do so. If you are not sure if your item can be repaired, bring it in for assessment and we'll let you know.

    VOLUNTEER

    You can also sign up as a volunteer repairer or support person to help Repair Cafe.  Repair Cafe  needs volunteers to operate and we are looking for volunteers that have a desire to learn repair (of any sort) a desire to help in some way, and volunteers that have repair skills for shoes/boot, bags, umbrellas, woodwork, gadgets, bikes and more.  To join the Repair Cafe as a volunteer please complete the volunteer application form here and choose "Repair Cafe".

    Find out more 

    To learn more about Waverley's Repair Café contact connected@waverley.nsw.gov.au or call 02 9083 8916

    Or to find out more about how this service can help a community, click this link to watch a short YouTube video.

    Thank you to St Catherine’s School Sydney, for their generous help in hosting the Waverley Repair Café.