State election polling booths supplied thanks to disability employer Ozanam Enterprises

Ozanam Enterprises was established in 1976 by a consortium of parents who had children with a disability about to complete their schooling with little or no prospect of gaining employment. Currently, Ozanam Enterprises provides on-going, stable employment and training opportunities for 60 people with a disability.

Between March and May, 2018 supported employees of Ozanam Enterprises assisted by the support staff constructed 360 huge cardboard boxes and packed each one with 100 polling booths, counting and packaging a grand total of 36,000 polling booths for the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). These boxes were then distributed all over Victoria for the State Election in November, 2018.

The team also measured, cut, counted and bundled 20,000, 50cm lengths of nylon rope that was used to tie banners to the fences at the polling locations.

As the State election approached, the VEC made available a mobile voting team to visit the Ozanam Enterprises facility in Carrum Downs so that staff and employees could have the opportunity of early voting. As a few of the damaged polling booths remained, they were put to good use, converting the training room temporarily into a polling station for the staff and employees, their families and friends.