Men’s Sheds can be great places for people with disability to engage with others and learn new skills.
Men can come and have a yarn and a cuppa or they can work on community projects, specific Men’s Shed projects or a project of their choice in their own time. The only ‘must’ is to observe safe working practices, which may include different requirements for men with a disability.
Men’s sheds aim to be inclusive and are open to the community to join and generally do not impose criteria restricting membership based on matters such as age, ethnicity or background. However, not all sheds are equipped to be able to assist all types of disabilities.
Accessibility
Some sheds have accessibility features in place eg. ramps, accessible toilets, lowered benches for wheelchairs, and many include these features on their shed’s website. Other sheds are unable to support changes to the shed to make them accessible, as they are renting or leasing the site.
What services do Men’s Sheds provide people with disabilities?
Men’s Sheds are not NDIS providers and most don’t offer specific activities for people with disabilities, however, there are a limited number of sheds that do.
Each shed operates independently and the activities that do run in different sheds vary from shed to shed.
See “What is a Mens Shed?” for more information.
What is the referral process?
Most sheds do not have a referral process. Service providers need to make direct contact with the relevant shed and discuss their client’s needs, expectations and limitations – and whether the shed has the capability to meet those needs prior to attending.
Does a carer have to attend?
If the client requires a carer in most aspects of their life, then they must have a carer with them at all times whilst at the shed. While Sheds work to be inclusive, shed members are all volunteers and most are not trained to support different disabilities/behaviours.
Do the carers need to be a member?
Generally paid carers are covered under their employers’ insurance, and most sheds do not require paid carers to be members but a few do have a reduced rate for carers, which covers costs such as morning tea.
If the carer is a family member/friend, they would be required to become members in order to be covered by the shed insurance.
Find your local shed
Find your local shed here