The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly to the following:
Since 2020, the Women’s Shed Canberra (WSC) has operated as ACT’s first and only women’s shed, providing trade‑based skills training as a social enterprise. It has become a safe space where women of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations and abilities build confidence, independence and community connection through practical skills. Participants experience significant improvements in health and wellbeing.
Thousands of women across the ACT have improved their lives by participating in shed activities and mobile workshops. In the 2025 financial year, WSC:
• supported 590 women through hands‑on training
• delivered 160 workshops and 504 hours of skills training to 160 members achieved a 92% recommendation rate.
WSC has achieved this entirely through volunteer commitment, without paid staff. Growing demand now requires essential operational, safety and program coordination roles that volunteers can no longer sustain, placing the organisation at risk of closure. Without core funding, the long‑term viability of the women’s shed is not possible.
The petitioners request that the Assembly call on the ACT Government to provide core funding and multi‑year support to the Women’s Shed Canberra for continuing to empower women through trade skills and avoid closure.