9 March 2022

VIC Office News

We would like to communicate to our Members some news regarding the Victorian office of the API at 10 Beach St Port Melbourne.

The building has been home to the API for close to 30 years and many of our Victorian members would have sat their Viva Voce and/or attended a State Committee meeting, workshop or seminar within its walls.  For myself I have always loved the location, having recently relocated to Port Melbourne, the rich cultural heritage and the beauty of the building.

In recent years, the building has needed some major repairs and currently requires a major renovation to bring several elements up to current building standards and to repair and maintain a building of its age in an appropriate manner.  Whilst the API has repaired the building as issues have arisen, the volume of necessary repair works has continued to grow. Late last year, we commissioned a full building inspection to fully understand the true condition of the building, and what would be required to bring the building into alignment with current building standards and codes and provide a safe healthy working environment for staff.

This report was discussed with the API Board and the Victorian State Committee in a joint meeting in October last year in order to decide whether we invested the significant resources required to restore the building, or if we relocated with a view to sell the building and invest those resources into the membership instead for identified future projects. Once the true cost of restoring the building was established, there was support from all parties that the restoration and renovation of the building would be a wasteful exercise and that the value of the building could be better applied to serving the membership elsewhere.

Upon this direction, we began the process of exploring office location options and considering how we approached the sale of the building at the highest and best use. I know for many of our longstanding members this will be upsetting news, as the history of the building is intrinsically tied to the API and our Victorian Members. It has been a home to many and holds many memories for our organisation. However, I know there are many amongst both our membership and staff excited by the next chapter for the API and we are very much looking forward to serving our Members from our new location.

We will be announcing our new location and details of our Member Opening Event once a final destination has been secured.

Kind regards,

Amelia Hodge

 

18 May 2022

VIC Office Update: Our new home at Hub Flinders Street

Following previous correspondence circulated in Member News advising a move from our Port Melbourne Victorian office, we are very excited to announce that API VIC is now located at The Hub Australia office, Level 7, 180 Flinders St.

In what has been an extensive process to determine the right office location, we feel API at The Hub will meet the needs of both our staff and the local Member base. With a dedicated office suite, there are also many well-designed rooms available for professional interviews, events and training, and future committee meetings.