Bega Valley Repair Cafe

Bega Valley Repair Cafe Bega Valley Repair Cafe is a not-for-profit community initiative with the purpose of repairing items rather than see them go into landfill.

It also provide a social connection for people as they learn how to repair everyday items for themself. Bega Repair Cafe operates as a program of Bega Valley Shire Council utilising volunteer labour. We open every Friday, from 10am to 2pm

The Trainee succeeds again! He recapped this vintage Proton receiver and fixed a fault it had in one of its output chann...
22/02/2026

The Trainee succeeds again! He recapped this vintage Proton receiver and fixed a fault it had in one of its output channels. However the tuner wasn't working, and it was obvious a previous professional technician had tried and given up. The fault turned out to be a crystal with its legs eaten away by the notorious brown glue. Replaced that and working again better than new.

All our volunteers are recharged and ready to have a go at fixing all that busted stuff you bring into us.Friday, 10am t...
26/01/2026

All our volunteers are recharged and ready to have a go at fixing all that busted stuff you bring into us.

Friday, 10am to 2pm.

What challenges will we see in 2026? We certainly get our fair share of "Mission Impossibles"

As 2025 comes to a conclusion, the Bega Repair Cafe team is taking a summer break. We start back on Friday 30 January 2...
29/12/2025

As 2025 comes to a conclusion, the Bega Repair Cafe team is taking a summer break. We start back on Friday 30 January 2026, ready to have a go at fixing all your broken and busted stuff.

Oh, and what did we achieve in 2025? 382 items came in for repair, and 355 went back in full working order to their owners. Not too bad for a bunch of volunteers working on a Friday for a few hours, hey?

From our Team to yours, have a safe New Year, and we'll see you all on the flipside.

Our apprentice technician is coming along in leaps and bounds!This magnificent Marantz 2215B has been fully restored and...
07/12/2025

Our apprentice technician is coming along in leaps and bounds!

This magnificent Marantz 2215B has been fully restored and serviced by Tim, to a condition better than brand new. Believe it or not, in this restored condition it is worth ~ $2,500.

Sincere thanks to Brendan and the team at Betta Electrical Bega, who have sponsored us through the part-donation of a br...
22/10/2025

Sincere thanks to Brendan and the team at Betta Electrical Bega, who have sponsored us through the part-donation of a brand new laptop computer! Many Betta Electrical customers are directed to us once their items are no longer covered by warranty. Betta Electrical is also a Jaycar distributor, so we often seek out parts for our repairs at their shop. We are very pleased for our partnership to continue into the future.

What happens to retired ABC radio presenters? They become trainee electronics technicians at The Repair Cafe! Tim proudl...
28/09/2025

What happens to retired ABC radio presenters? They become trainee electronics technicians at The Repair Cafe!
Tim proudly shows off the Community Pantry welcome sign he spent many hours bringing back to life.

We have become victims of our own success. We've been inundated with stuff to repair, and with a very limited number of...
02/08/2025

We have become victims of our own success. We've been inundated with stuff to repair, and with a very limited number of repairers, and just Fridays, 10 until 2 to work on repairs, we just can't get through the workload.

Therefore, we are NOT ACCEPTING NEW REPAIRS until we can clear the backlog. You are welcome to come in and discuss what you have that needs repairing, and we can put you on a waitlist.

We will re-post here when we are back to normal operation again.

This is what greenwashing can look like.Aldi sell an electric mower. Great for the environment! No more noisy smoking 4-...
23/06/2025

This is what greenwashing can look like.

Aldi sell an electric mower. Great for the environment! No more noisy smoking 4-stoke petrol engine lawnmower! HOWEVER....

This 80 volt mower battery was brought in to us. Just out of warranty (a little over a year old). It had rained a touch whilst the lawn was being mowed and it appeared that some rainwater had got inside the battery. Opening it up we discovered the micro-sized electronic components has been glued with a notorious 'brown glue', known to become corrosive over time. The connectors had become corroded and can't be repaired. Very poor quality of manufacturing.

Replacement battery? Aldi do not support their products with spare parts. A substitute battery perhaps? No - the battery has been manufactured in such a way to be unique to this mower.

The outcome? The entire mower is now useless and will be going to the waste depot. Hopefully it can be recycled as scrap metal and e-waste.

We support the international 'Right to Repair' movement. Retailers should not be allowed to sell electrical and electronic items that do not have a supply of common parts that might fail. A battery should be considered a consumable part - it will eventually fail. No one should throw away a perfectly serviceable mower because a replacement battery is not available.

To steal from an infamous TV journalist: :"ALDI, shame, shame, shame!"

Our Repair Cafe operates as a Program of Bega Valley Shire Council - we are considered to be Council volunteers . And i...
23/06/2025

Our Repair Cafe operates as a Program of Bega Valley Shire Council - we are considered to be Council volunteers . And in recognition of that, three of us recently received our 5 Year Service Awards. Which also means Bega Repair Cafe has been in operation for 5 years in its current guise.

We look forward to serving the community well into the future. To that end, we are also now engaging with the Bega Circularity Co-operative to see how we can fit into this wonderful local sustainability initiative too.

Who doesn't enjoy a good 'contra deal'?In exchange for repairing this vacuum cleaner (the power cord had a break where i...
06/02/2025

Who doesn't enjoy a good 'contra deal'?
In exchange for repairing this vacuum cleaner (the power cord had a break where it flexs entering the body of the machine - very common) this wonderful client provided us with a Toblerone cheese cake! Yummy. Puts meaning into the "Cafe" part of our name.

We've back on Friday 31 January 2025. Looking forward to another huge year of fixing:* Dyson vacuum cleaners with worn ...
27/12/2024

We've back on Friday 31 January 2025. Looking forward to another huge year of fixing:
* Dyson vacuum cleaners with worn out batteries
* Anything with leads that the dog has chewed through
* Food processors that stopped working after making bread dough with the consistency of concrete
* Food dehydrators that stopped working after a blanket was placed over it
* Top heavy Ikea standard lamps that snap off the lamp holder every time they topple over
* $30 power tools that seem to fail just outside the warranty period

and the list goes on....

Address

91 Gipps Street
Bega, NSW
2550

Opening Hours

10am - 2pm

Telephone

+61405383692

Website

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