Period products are set to become available for free at six community venues across Melbourne. Vending machines stocked with free period products will soon be installed at the Melbourne Town Hall Collins Street public toilets, Carlton Baths, City Library, Library at the Dock, North Melbourne Community Centre and Kathleen Syme Community Centre in an effort to tackle period poverty across the city.
The new vending machines are part of a Melbourne city council 12-month pilot program aimed at addressing period poverty, with councillor Dr Olivia Ball saying: "Periods are a normal part of life and access to products to manage them is a basic necessity."
"Some members of our community cannot regularly afford sanitary products, or may be unable to access them in an emergency, or in cases of domestic and family violence."
In Victoria, around 15 per cent of residents who menstruate have been unable to afford suitable period products at some point in their lifetimes. The free period products will be available to the public as soon as restrictions permit.