After four years of bouncing between temporary and unsuitable premises, Northern Rivers LGBTQIA+ support service Queer Family Inc may finally have somewhere more secure to hang its hat.
Byron councillors will next week consider granting the organisation a 12-month licence over the former Station Master’s Cottage at 80 Jonson Street, Byron Bay, at a peppercorn rent, together with $32,000 worth of Council support.
Staff are recommending councillors approve a $25,000 rent subsidy and a further $7,000 to cover rates and fixed charges, while Queer Family would remain responsible for costs such as water and waste services.
It would provide some breathing space for an organisation that has struggled to find a stable base since losing its premises in the 2022 floods. In 2023, Queer Family secured 12 months rent-free at The Farmhouse in Mullumbimby, but by last year it was again warning that high rents and unsuitable temporary premises were threatening its survival.
Last September, The Echo reported that Queer Family had identified the former Mullumbimby sewage treatment plant site at Casuarina Street as a potential long-term home, possibly using a flood buyback house supplied through the Reconstruction Authority. Council staff subsequently identified significant constraints at that site, including flood, bushfire and environmental issues.
In May this year councillors voted 5–4 to offer Queer Family temporary use of an unnamed Council property while longer-term options were explored, following an impassioned debate about governance, fairness and the allocation of public assets. The site was subsequently revealed as the former Station Master’s Cottage.
The proposal has since attracted overwhelming public support.
Of 88 submissions received during consultation, 84 supported the licence and four objected. The objections focused largely on governance, financial impacts, fairness to other community organisations, heritage and whether the highly visible CBD site was appropriate. Three of the four objectors nevertheless expressed support for Queer Family’s work.
Supporters repeatedly described the importance of having a safe, dedicated LGBTQIA+ community space.
‘Most importantly, Queer Family has given my child opportunities to meet and connect with other children … build friendships, develop confidence and feel less alone,’ one local community member said.
Another local member of the LGBTQIA+ community described the impact more starkly: ‘In short they saved my life!’
Council staff say the property has limited commercial earning potential under its current zoning and approvals, and note that rent and rates were previously subsidised when the building housed the Byron Visitor Centre. They say the proposed subsidies therefore amount largely to redirecting existing support from tourism and economic development to community services.
Councillors will also be asked to bring the cottage under Council’s broader Community Facilities Plan of Management, replacing its old site-specific plan and formally enabling future community uses and licensing.
The arrangement remains temporary. A permanent community use of the site may ultimately require rezoning and further planning approvals.
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