Bushfire and Smoke Information Page

The bushfire threat and smoke continues to impact Canberra and the ACT region. We are prepared and are actively monitoring the situation. This page will provide regular and ongoing updates for Communities@Work’s programs and services.

Last Updated: 2:17 PM, 28 February 2020

COMMUNITIES@WORK SERVICES ARE OPERATING*

*Please review information for specific programs and services below.

What you should do:

It is imperative that everyone has completed their Bushfire Survival Plan, even if you are not in an area of immediate danger.

Overview

Communities@Work services are operating as normal and clients will be contacted directly if there are any issues that require us to change or close a service.

We will continue to actively monitor the bushfire and smoke situation impacting the ACT region, referring to the ACT Emergency Services, ACT Health and the Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA), to provide advice and to inform decisions about our operations.

Communities@Work provides a broad range of services to the Canberra community, with many provided to vulnerable people. We take our commitment to the community seriously and seek to balance this in the context of the current situation impacting the Canberra region.

Updates on:

How is Communities@Work managing the current situation?

Communities@Work’s management team have enacted our Bushfire Emergency plan, and Health and Safety protocols are in place across all our centres, programs and services. The health and safety of our clients, children, employees and educators is our priority. This means that we may be required to cancel or change programs and activities at short notice. If this occurs, we will endeavour to inform clients as soon as possible.

We refer to the ACT Emergency Services, ACT Health and the Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA), to provide advice and to inform decisions about our operations.

We are taking all possible precautions to mitigate the impact of the smoke, following the advice of ACT Health. This includes:

If we are unable to operate outdoor activities, we will operate in-service activities from air-conditioned premises.
Air-conditioning units have been inspected and cleaned and we have been provided expert advice how best to operate them to optimise air quality.
Processes have been enacted to reduce smoky air coming inside buildings. This includes minimising access points to buildings.

Communication
The changing nature of the situation and conditions requires active monitoring to ensure we make informed decisions and communicate them in a timely manner. In the case of a change to a service or program, clients will be contacted directly (if possible), we will update this page, and post on the Communities@Work Facebook Page.

Contact Us
If you have any questions, please contact the program or service directly. If you are having any trouble making contact the program, please contact our main switch.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

We will continue to provide updates on this page as the situation changes, and will contact clients and other stakeholders directly when required.

School Holiday Programs

Health and safety are our priority, which means we may be required to cancel or change planned activities at short notice. Additionally, external providers may decide to close (eg Questacon, Big Splash). If this occurs, we will operate an in-service program.

Families/guardians will be contacted directly if there are any issues that require us to change or close a service.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact our Children’s Services Enrolments Team, 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Phone: 1300 212 273
Email: enrolments@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Child Care and Education Centres

All of Communities@Work’s Child Care and Education Centres are operating.

Families/guardians will be contacted directly if there are any issues that require us to change or close a service.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact your centre directly. If you are having any trouble contacting the program, please contact our main switch.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Social Programs (Community Pantry, Clothing Program & Housing)

Our Social programs are seeing increased demand as a result of the current situation.

If you have extra visitors and are finding it hard to provide enough food for everyone, we can help. Our community pantries are open 10am-2pm Monday to Friday and help people experiencing hardship with free and discounted food, assistance paying for medical scripts* (*capped) and other services, including information and referrals to other support services in Canberra. Come in and chat to us about what you need. We are here to help. Located in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin.

We are also accepting donations for our pantry. Donations will be accepted at our Tuggeranong and Gungahlin community centres.

Items we need:

Rice or noodles
Pasta & pasta sauce
Soup
Cereal
Long-life milk
Coffee/tea/hot chocolate
Cordial and Juice
Tinned fruit
Tinned vegetables
Tinned ham/turkey/salmon/tuna
Peanuts/mixed nuts
Savoury crackers
Sweet biscuits
Chocolate and lollies
Chips or nibbles

If you have any questions or need help, please contact our Social Programs Team, 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Seniors Programs

Communities@Work’s Seniors Programs, in-home support and transport services are operating as normal.

If you have any questions or need help, please call our Seniors Team, between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Disability Programs

Our Disability programs are operating. Clients/carers will be contacted directly if there are any issues that require us to cancel or close a service.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact the facilitator of your program directly, or contact our Disability Team, 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday on the details below.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email
Young Adults and Teens – disability@commsatwork.org
Malkara – malkara@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Family Day Care and In-home Care

Please contact your service directly. If you are having any trouble making contact, please contact our main switch.

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Galilee School

Galilee School is currently closed for the school holidays.

Contact Us

If you need any further information, please contact the main switch.

Tuggeranong Community Centre
245 Cowlishaw St
Greenway ACT 2900

Gungahlin Community Centre
47 Ernest Cavanagh Street
Gungahlin ACT 2912

Phone: (02) 6293 6500
Email: admin@commsatwork.org
Get in Touch

Please stay safe, and remember to ensure you have a bushfire survival plan and are ready to enact it. Visit our bushfire and smoke advice page for more information and resources.