Pangerang Community Hub will use a $50,000 grant from auDA to re-establish the Wangaratta Digital Hub at the Ovens Street neighbourhood house. The project was one of 15 funded through the community grant program offered by auDA (the Australian not-for-profit organisation responsible for administering the .au domain), to support initiatives that promote digital inclusion. Grant recipients were announced this month during an event at the Melbourne Museum. Revival of the Wangaratta Digital Hub comes a year after it was closed by the Rural City of Wangaratta, which had been overseeing the facility based since 2019 in the former High Country Library Corporation office to the left of the Wangaratta Library entrance. In the two years prior to its closure, the hub had been funded by a $170,000 grant from the state government's Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions and a $50,000 contribution from council. During this time, the Rural City of Wangaratta led a project aimed at making the hub financially independent and sustainable for the long-term, after it had closed in 2022 upon reaching the end of its three-year state government-funded pilot phase. However, the ongoing funding required to keep the hub operating could not be secured, leading to the decision to close its doors at the end of January, 2025. Pangerang Community Hub executive officer Tennille Hall said since the closure, local people had often been directed by various organisations and businesses in the community to the Ovens Street neighbourhood house for assistance with digital queries and concerns. She estimated that Pangerang saw about 20 people per week seeking help of this nature, and while staff were keen to assist, the neighbourhood house was not sufficiently resourced to cater for the increase in demand as well as other aspects of its operations. She said it would be exciting to be able to offer more support - albeit on a smaller scale than before and reliant on the assistance of volunteers - to those in the community, particularly older people, through the revived Wangaratta Digital Hub at Pangerang. "I think older people are going to feel really grateful that we've continued to advocate for them," Ms Hall said. The new chapter for the digital hub emerged after Pangerang met in mid-2025 with the Rural City of Wangaratta's economic development team to discuss the increasing number of people coming to the neighbourhood house for help in the wake of the digital hub's closure. During COVID-19, many local residents had drawn on the support of the digital hub as they navigated QR codes, preparation of vaccination certificates and accessing rebates online; this was in line with the facility's initial pilot phase which aimed to increase the region's lagging digital inclusion status and cater for needs around advancing technology, skills development opportunities and support networks. "They got used to using the digital hub, and then when it was no longer available, everywhere they tried, they were being sent to us, but we didn't really have the resources available to cater for demand," Ms Hall said. "This is the generation that supported us with everything, so it's important we don't leave them high and dry. "I think we've been fortunate to receive great funding around digital education at Pangerang, through the federal government's Be Connected program, but we recognise that this is a cohort of people who just need immediate help with practical things like setting up their phones or sending emails, rather than sitting through hour-long courses. "As a community, we have to come together to support them and fill this gap, so this funding is amazing." Ms Hall said Pangerang would seek to recruit a bank of volunteers to assist during opening hours of the new-look digital hub, which will operate on Wednesdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm during school terms. "We are looking for people who know the bare bones of digital support, and can be here for an allocated time so that those looking for assistance can come in and feel supported," she said. Weekly workshops will also be conducted through the digital hub, and more advanced assistance will be provided for a fee. In assistance to the auDA funding, Pangerang Community Hub has received $8900 from the Glenrowan Solar Farm, a grant facilitated by Into Our Hands, to provide a weekly community café and digital support in Glenrowan with the use of its mobile hub - further helping to boost digital inclusion. A launch for the Wangaratta Digital Hub at Pangerang will be held on Tuesday, 10 March with a sausage sizzle from 12 noon. Locals are encouraged to come along and see what the hub will offer in its new location. Anyone interested in providing volunteer assistance at the digital hub can contact Pangerang on 5721 3813.
