The Shire of Murray will waive the rent for a Pinjarra family and domestic violence support centre for two years as the service faces increased numbers seeking help.
Peel region family and domestic violence charity OVIS Community Services had been paying $9150 per year for rent at its Pinjarra Women’s Centre.
The centre opened on Camp Road in 2022 and provides a safe space for women and children to access services tailored to their needs, in collaboration with other related services.
In March 2022, OVIS entered into a lease agreement with the Shire of Murray which expires in January 2025.
It was given a peppercorn lease of $1 for the first year of the agreement, with lease payments of 50 per cent of the market value in the second and third years due to uncertainty over its funding stream.
OVIS chief executive Megan Mckrill and operations manager Katrina Russell-Barr gave a deputation at the council’s April 18 meeting outlining how the waiving of their rent could assist the group while it worked towards gaining more funding.
Ms Russell-Barr said the Pinjarra Women’s Centre had seen a “huge growth” in the number of women accessing their services from about 80 in the first year of operations in Pinjarra to 169 last year.
Ms Mckrill said the charity was funded through its savings and a partnership grant with Alcoa, which she said covered less than 10 per cent of its running costs.
She said they would be campaigning for Government funding during the upcoming election and the organisation did not expect to receive a rent waiver if it received funding and was able to pay rent.
Shire president David Bolt proposed amending the council recommendation to extend the waiver from one to two years.
Cr Steve Lee said he believed the extension was not necessary if OVIS was obtaining Government funding.
Cr David Pike also spoke against the amendment, with both he and Cr Lee saying a rent waiver could be granted again in 12 months if needed.
Cr Pike said granting the waiver for one year would demonstrate to the Government that there was “pressure” on the organisation.
“I do believe that if they are going for the Government grant, that the Government needs to see that there is pressure on them,” Cr Pike said.
“It’s no big deal to renew it in 12 months if the grants don’t come through.”
The two-year rent waiver was granted, starting from January this year.