News

It is with much joy that we welcome the announcement by Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth of an additional $600k funding for toy libraries. This includes funding for toy libraries to improve access for children with developmental delay and disabilities and TLA to maintain it’s current level of services through to mid-2026. The funding announcement includes: $11,000 grants for 30 toy libraries to staff an additional session and other activities that support fami

Please join us in our excitement announcing the nine toy libraries who have been chosen for the Disability Access, Inclusion, and Support Program (DAIS) projects as part of the Information Linkages and Capacity building (ILC) program funded by the Department of Social Services. After creating an expression of interest process for the three projects offered the TLA DAIS program reviewed and assessed against specific grant criteria all 19 applications to decide on the nine toy

Working together to make toy libraries a better place for all families Article key points (TL;DR): The DAIS program is ready to put its market and university research into action to help shape the future of inclusive toy libraries. We are inviting all toy libraries to get involved by becoming one of our 9 project sites for the program. Express your interest by emailing us at daisteam@toylibraries.org.au We dream of a world where every family has access to inclusive, welc

We urge all parties to include toy libraries in their federal election commitments. Toy libraries reduce cost of living pressures for families, support parents as a child’s first educators, create community connection and support networks for parents with young children, provide volunteering pathways to employment, support inclusion of children with disability, and reduce waste by following circular economy principles. Toy Libraries Australia and our members genuinely appreci

Now taking expression of interest for TLA focus groups. If you are a parent or carer of a child, or children with disabilities and or developmental delay and you are a member of a toy library, we invite you to join us for one of our upcoming focus groups. The Disability Access, Inclusion, and Support (DAIS) Program Team, here at TLA, are excited to be involved in research being undertaken by a team based at Western Sydney University to explore the barriers and facilitators to

We are seeking members of our TLA community who have lived experience of disabilities to join with our new Toy Libraries Australia Disability Leaders Group. Just as we have Community Leaders groups based in each state who generously volunteer their time to inform the work of TLA from a state perspective, we are now seeking to form a national group to support the work of TLA's Disability Access, Inclusion, and Support Program. The group will meet online and work alongside the

Progress has begun on the Stronger and Resilient Communities (SARC)- Volunteering project. Building on the benefits reported from Northam Toy Library in WA’s previous engagement with children from the local high school. Pilot toy libraries are connecting with local organisations to provide opportunities to our target groups to find meaningful and valuable volunteering opportunities while ensuring our toy libraries have volunteers to undertake many of the required tasks to ens

There is a dynamic conversation taking place across Australia right now about a new model for improving access to vital support services for people with disabilities. The concept is called “foundational supports”, and it is going to be a game changer for families and for local community-based organisations, like toy libraries. Read more on the NDIS review and foundational supports. Four ways you can meaningfully contribute: Respond to the online questionnaire Like and com

At Toy Libraries Australia, we’re working on a plan to improve how toy libraries support families, and we’d love to hear from you if you are a parent or caregiver whose eldest child is aged 6 months to 6 years. Why your feedback matters We want to know how toy libraries can be more accessible and welcoming for all families, including those who have children with disabilities and their siblings. Your input will help us make sure that every child has a great experience at the l

Toy Libraries Australia’s 2024 member survey gathered responses from 109 participants representing 80 toy libraries across Australia. The survey aims to capture the perspectives of volunteer committee members and paid toy librarians on the strengths and challenges faced by their toy library, as well as their satisfaction with Toy Libraries Australia (TLA). This survey provides invaluable insights that are used by the board in developing TLA’s strategy and by the leadership te

Toy Libraries Australia have received a grant from the Australian Government through the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) - Social and Community Participation Grant Program. We're thrilled to be creating a program that will further support toy libraries in offering families with disabilities better access to our toys and resources. This is a 2-year program that will develop three pilot projects in a selection of toy libraries across Australia. We begin by see

In the not-for-profit sector, good governance is essential. It is a foundation piece leading to sustainable, impactful organisations. Good governance ensures transparency, and accountability which helps not for profit organisations, including Toy Libraries to fulfill their missions and better serve their communities. Due to recent changes, many not-for-profit toy libraries must now register with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) to qualify for inc

July 22nd was a momentous week for the Toy Well program with three new Toy Wells opening in three different states. The week started with the official opening of the Karrendi Toy Well in Salisbury Adelaide. Where we were privileged to have Amanda Rishworth MP perform the official opening of the toy library. Check out the opening here The following day, St Brendan’s Toy Well in Moorooka Brisbane was opened and we were delighted to have coverage of the opening by Indoz TV s

Toy libraries across Australia will be busy in the coming months delivering projects to improve their accessibility for children with additional support needs including Autism, ADHD and Developmental Delay. In February Minister Rishworth announced DSS funding to enable TLA to run a very special and targeted grant program to toy libraries. Minister Rishworth said “At the heart of this is Australia’s children. We want them to thrive, to love to learn, and to help parents and

TLA is very excited to be commencing a project funded by the Australian Government through the Strong and Resilient Communities (SARC)- Inclusive Communities Grant Program. This project will build upon knowledge and experience from toy libraries who have had success with partnering with local schools to provide opportunities to students with disabilities to volunteer in the toy library. Northam Toy Library in WA’s Avon Valley used previous funding from the DSS-TLA Diversity a

Queensland children and communities are missing out on a vital opportunity to learn and thrive through play due to a significant shortage in toy libraries across the state. This gap in access to toy libraries compounds the cost-of-living pressures faced by families in the state. Mounting financial pressure on Queensland families has seen demand for toy libraries skyrocket, with memberships at TLA member South Brisbane Toy Library more than doubling in 12 months, but Queenslan

It is with much joy that we announce our collaboration with Reconciliation Australia in developing our Inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Toy Libraries Australia’s vision is that ‘all communities can access a quality toy library’. To us this means that our member toy libraries create a culturally safe and inclusive environment for all children and that we specifically meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families. Toy li

The Australian toy library community gathered in front of screens around the country on Sunday 5 May to watch the annual virtual awards ceremony. All were eager to see which toy libraries and toy library heroes would take home the highest toy library awards for 2024. A record number of nominations were received in the annual Australian Toy Library awards this year reflecting a huge amount of work, innovation and success experienced by many toy libraries in the last year. TLA

Toy Libraries around Australia will be inviting local decision makers, stakeholders and other cool humans to volunteer in their local toy library for just one volunteer shift this July as part of our annual toy library awareness campaign. We love sharing the joy that being inside a toy library can bring and we think that by spending one volunteer shift in a toy library our local politicians, business people, community leaders, and celebrities will get a slice of toy library j