Facilities
Part of Coworking member onboarding
Checking whether a new member can use essential facilities
Test a new member’s actual route, access and essential facilities, then record and resolve anything they cannot use.
A facility is ready for a new member when they can reach it, operate it and use it during the hours their membership allows. A tour can show where the toilets, water and work area are; a first-use check shows whether the member can actually use them.
Key Compliance Sources for Australian Work Facilities
- Legislation
- Work health and safety laws (Australia)
- Accessibility Guidelines
- Improving accessibility for people with disability (Human Rights Commission)
Test the member’s ordinary route
Begin at the entrance the member will use, at a time covered by their membership. Follow the route to their work area, toilets, drinking water, kitchen or eating area and an exit. Check signs, doors, lifts and any credential-controlled points.
If the member expects to work outside staffed hours, confirm how they obtain help then.
Before arrival, provide clear route information and privately ask whether the member needs any adjustment to the route or service.
Check function, not just presence
Use a short first-use check tailored to the membership:
| Essential task | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Enter and leave | Credential works at authorised times; member knows the exit and help route |
| Work | Promised desk or office is usable, with suitable power and the agreed way to connect |
| Use basic facilities | Toilets, drinking water and eating or kitchen facilities can be reached and used |
| Attend a meeting | If included or booked, the relevant room can be found and entered |
| Report a fault | Member knows whom to contact and how to describe the issue |
A printer, locker or meeting room may be important to a particular member, but it is not automatically included in every membership. Check the actual promise before marking it essential. Conversely, a facility that is included but inaccessible in practice should not be treated as complete merely because it exists on a plan.
For each facility listed as essential, ask the member to try the relevant task at the time and with the access method their membership allows. Record any point where they need help or cannot proceed.
Record and resolve a failed check
Record the task that failed, where and when it happened, its immediate effect, the person responsible for a response and the next update. Avoid recording a diagnosis or unrelated personal history when a description such as “cannot open the east entrance with the issued card” is enough to direct a fix.
Prioritise loss of entry, an unusable basic facility or an unsafe route. Offer an alternative only if it genuinely meets the member’s need and is available at the relevant time. Confirm the permanent fix with the member, then update directions or the onboarding process if the fault could affect others.
Complete the check from the member’s perspective. A staff account, spare key or escorted daytime visit may hide a problem the member will face alone on their next workday.
