Tool library membership is open to any resident of the Canberra region who is over 18. You do not need to join to see the inventory.

Join the Toolbox here. Fill out the form, read and agree to the Membership Agreement, Borrowing Terms and Conditions and Deed of Release, submit the form and complete the payment. Your membership will be automatically accepted and you can access your account and reserve items immediately through our MyTurn library platform.

If your settings are for automatic membership renewal, you will be reminded in advance. You can manage your membership yourself from your MyTurn account page.

The ToolBus is a mobile service with predetermined stops around Canberra. It is available to all Toolbox members and gives access to the full inventory (except for the full-length kayaks, which don’t fit in the van).

Currently, there are Saturday morning stops at Weston and Tuggeranong. This will change in response to member demand and volunteer availability.

Yes! You can buy a fancy printed gift certificate from the Toolbox, the ToolBus or the SEE Change office (open M, W, F). You can also buy a digital gift certificate, which will be emailed to the recipient.

Yes. As the Toolbox is a SEE Change group, when you join the Toolbox you will also receive a SEE Change membership. Your membership with SEE Change will automatically renew when your Toolbox membership renews.

Please note that our communication channels are separate, so you may need to manage your contact details with SEE Change separately to the Toolbox channels.

Members have access to all items in the Toolbox and can borrow 15 at a time. Most can be borrowed for two weeks, but some more popular items (lawn mowers, pressure cleaners, thermal cameras etc) are restricted to one week loans.

You can renew loans twice (you can do that online). If you find that you can’t renew, it could be because the item is due for scheduled maintenance or another member has reserved it.

Yes! Members can use the reservation function in the online MyTurn library platform (learn how here).

When you reserve an item, the following will usually happen:

1. Reservation confirmation email: You will immediately receive a reservation confirmation.

2. Ready for pickup email: When the volunteers have your items ready for pickup, we will email you. Please do not come earlier, as the items may not be ready yet - perhaps they haven’t been returned, or perhaps they need some maintenance before we can lend them.

Please wait for the email saying that all your reserved items are ready for pickup.

If your reservation is requested after the Toolbox shift has begun and you haven’t received the ready for collection email within 30 minutes, call the Toolbox. Sometimes volunteers don’t have the chance to check for new reservations.

No, we can't home deliver as we just don't have the person power. However, if you have difficulties accessing our site or need assistance carrying equipment, please contact us or make a note in your online reservation in MyTurn and we can make arrangements to help you at the Toolbox.

We also have the ToolBus, which makes prescheduled stops with reserved items on board.

We expect tools to suffer normal wear and tear. In circumstances where damage is beyond normal wear and tear, we may charge you for replacement.

If you have something you’d like to donate, check our Donate page for more details.

Yes! We are always looking for volunteers. You just need a happy heart and a WWVP registration (or have it under way). For more details and to sign up visit our online volunteer platform.

We have several positions in the Toolbox. The main ones are:

• Toolbox assistant: helping members borrow and return items; helping members find the right tool for the job; processing new donations etc

• Stock maintenance: making small repairs to items; processing new donations etc (limited contact with members)

• DIY expert: this requires a thorough working knowledge of making and fixing. The whole job is about talking to members who need advice

• Toolbox supervisor: just like a Toolbox assistant, but also the holder of knowledge. This position requires at least six months’ experience as a Toolbox assistant, with an excellent working knowledge of our lending software.

• ToolBus driver: experienced Toolbox volunteers, over 25 years old and with a full licence.

• Repair cafe repairer: someone with fixing skills who can help fix (or at least diagnose) issues with visitors’ items.

• Repair cafe helper: making the repair cafe run smoothly.

We use Better Impact to manage volunteers. It’s easy to sign up:

to be a Toolbox volunteer

to be a repair cafe repairer or helper

It is very simple to manage your own shifts. We use Better Impact to manage our volunteer training, WWVP registrations and shifts. You can sign up for any shift for which you are eligible - and remove yourself up to 24 hours before the shift starts.

When a volunteer’s membership comes up for renewal, we will check how many hours you have donated in the preceding 12 months. If it’s 30 or more, we’ll extend the membership by six months. And at the end of that six months, we’ll do it again - even though there is cross-over between the first 12 months and the second.

If a non-member volunteer has put in 30 hours in the current 12 month period, we will set them up with a free six month membership.

Yes. In the past, we have run workshops:

• knife sharpening

• understanding your sewing machine

• making a tailor’s ham

• making pants

This is an irregular offering, determined mostly by volunteer capacity.

If you have a skill that you would like to share, we’d love to hear about it. If you have an ABN and insurance, we can pay you.

Let us know what you’ve got in mind. info@communitytoolboxcbr.org

In a perfect world, we would have a makers’ space and a women’s shed. Alas, we don’t have the space in our current premises.