Updated 3 November 2023

USE OF THE VENUE

1. Enjoyment and respect of others - The Hirer must keep noise levels reasonable and must not cause a nuisance or be offensive.
2. Appearance and Cleanliness - The Hirer must keep the venue clean and tidy at all times. More specifically, immediately before the event booking concludes, the Hirer must clean and wipe down all table tops, benches, oven, dishwasher and other equipment that you use and like surfaces, and remove all rubbish and waste from the venue to appropriate bins (if there is a large amount or excessive rubbish and waste, the Hirer must dispose of same appropriately at the Hirers expense).
3. Cleaning - The Hirer is liable for any additional cleaning costs if the venue is left in an unclean state which must be paid to Otao Kitchen in the same manner that the Hire Fee was paid within 7 days of being invoiced. 
4. Set up and pack up - The Hirer is responsible for setting up the venue including the Equipment and then returning Equipment to its original location within the time of the Booking, unless Otao Kitchen has agreed otherwise. The Hirer must not drag any Equipment or furniture across the venue and must move all Equipment and furniture safely.
5. Additional furniture and things - Additional furniture and things other than small items and stationery cannot be brought into the venue unless prior consent is given by Otao Kitchen. 
6. Anything brought into the venue by the Hirer must be removed from the venue within the time of the event.  For the avoidance of doubt, the venue must not be used by the Hirer for storage.  Otao Kitchen takes no responsibility for items that are left in the venue.
7. Decorations - Talcum powder, confetti, glitter, streamers, helium balloons or similar decorations are prohibited from the venue unless prior written consent is given by Otao Kitchen.
8. Flammable substances and poisons - Flammable substances and poisons are prohibited from the Venue unless prior written consent is given by Otao Kitchen.
9. Crockery / Cutlery - Otao Kitchen can provide catering and beverage making facilities, crockery or cutlery in venue.
10. Storage - Storage of any nature is not available unless prior to the consent is given by Otao Kitchen.
11. Venue capacity - Occupancy numbers in the venue must not exceed venue capacity.
12. Gambling and illegal activity - No gambling or illegal activity is allowed.  For the avoidance of doubt, illegal activity includes but is not limited to breaches of food related legislation.  Should the Hirer’s use of the venue involve the sale of food, or other food handling activities, then the Hirer must obtain prior approval from Yarra City Council . Smoking is not permitted in Otao Kitchen or outside the door. Smoking is permitted outside the front door.
13. Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) and emergency services call-outs - The Hirer must use the venue in a safe manner and keep all invitees and guests of the venue safe. The Hirer is liable for all costs associated with emergency services call-outs including the fire brigade or ambulance, resulting from a call by the Hirer or the Hirer’s use of the venue.
14. No interference - The Hirer must not interfere with or alter any of the electrical installations, lighting, sound systems or other technical instruments.
15. No transfer - The Booking cannot be transferred in part or in whole or assigned.
16. Damage - The Hirer is liable to Otao Kitchen for any damage done to the venue or equipment.
17. Incident, damage and potential incident reporting - The Hirer must promptly report to Otao Kitchen  any complaint or incident including but not limited to any injury, food poisoning, allegation of theft or criminal activity, security risk or anything likely to cause controversy and any damage done to the venue or equipment.
18. Publicity and display of material – Any material to be displayed at the venue by the Hirer in relation to use of the venue must first be approved by the Otao Kitchen in writing.  Otao Kitchen does not endorse any view or events conducted or displayed by the Hirer.
19. Promotion and other costs - Otao Kitchen is not responsible for promoting the Hirer’s use of the venue or liable for any cost associated with the use unless otherwise agreed. 
20. Images taken before or during an event by the hirer, their guests or Otao Kitchen staff may be published on our website or social channels without obtaining specific permissions. Please let your guests know if you do not wish this to occur.

ACCESS, SECURITY & EMERGENCIES

1. Parking - No parking will be provided by Otao Kitchen to the Hirer.
2. Access - Otao Kitchen will make available for collection by the Hirer an access a key, where appropriate. If a key is not returned within 48 hours of the conclusion of the Booking, the Hirer must pay a replacement fee of $200 per unit unless such fee is waived by Otao Kitchen. The Hirer must comply with all of Otao Kitchen’s security protocols and requirements.
3. Access to venue outside booking hours - The Hirer must include set up and pack up time in the venue booking application. The Hirer must not access the venue outside of the event including for set up and pack up.  
4. Security - At the time of confirmation, Otao Kitchen may require that the Hirer provide security for the venue and if required, the Hirer must comply with Otao Kitchen requirements at its own cost. 
5. Emergencies - The Hirer must be aware of all Emergency Procedures and nominate a person to be in charge of complying with the Emergency Procedures in the event of an emergency. Further, all emergency exit doorways and passageways must be clear and unobstructed at all times.

BOOKING PROCEDURE, BILLING AND TERMS OF PAYMENT

1. To make a booking send a completed booking form on our website. Confirmation will be issued Otao Kitchen at the acceptance of the booking. You will pay a retainer of 50% of the venue hire fee.
2. The minimum spend requirement is the function organiser’s responsibility. Sales made by guests at your function do not count towards the minimum spend. The minimum spend must be paid before the function/event commences. We do have a minimum spend $1268 for the venue hire for the year 2023-2024.
3. Full payment is required two weeks before the event. For a longer booking, you will pay a retainer of one month and a payment of one month in advance. Preferably the payment must be made by EFT. Credit Card, Cash,  are also acceptable.
4. The outstanding balance with security, cleaning and other fees is required no later than one week prior to your function. Credit card payments will automatically be debited. 
5. A tentative booking is designed to give you plenty of opportunity to plan your event. We will contact you if another party is interested in the same date. You can confirm the date/time with the retainer payment.The client must observe the period booked and leave on or before the agreed time. 
6. Event times are available to run until 11:00pm, clients and staff must leave the premises by 12.00 am at the latest (unless an earlier time has been book). Keys must be returned within 24 hours unless you are a longer hirer.
7. Otao kitchen reserves the right to reallocate the venue hire to another client if these requirements are not met. Additional charges may apply if any of the terms and conditions are broken.

CANCELLATION FEE SCHEDULE

1. In the event of a cancellation the following venue retainer fees will be withheld as per:
2. Notice of 2 weeks or more – 30% of retainer’s fees or $634 which ever is great. 
3. Notice within one week 50% of retainer’s fees or $634 whichever is great. 

LICENSING & INSURANCE

1. A responsible service of alcohol policy applies at all times. No persons under the age of 18 years shall be served with or allowed to consume alcoholic liquor. No alcohol is to be consumed outside the premises. We do have a liquor license but if you sell liquor you are responsible for an event license unless they buy the package from us. If you need to consume liquor on premises (e.g. for a cooking class) you will need to review the liquor licensing rules with the Department of Justice Victoria plus local Otao Kitchen. If there are any underage guests, they must be supervised by their legal guardian and the legal guardian must be 25 years or older.
2. If the hirer is cooking and selling foods then they shall have the food license to do in order to sell the foods and you need to contact the Environmental Health Department of the City of Yarra
3. The Hirer must be the holder of, or be covered under a current public liability insurance policy, underwritten by an insurer authorised to conduct insurance business in Australia for an amount not less than $20 million. A copy of a “certificate of currency” must be provided before the event.  

RELEASE AND INDEMNITY

1. Release - Otao Kitchen is not liable for any loss, damage, death or injury suffered or sustained by the Hirer or any guest or invitee of the Hirer in connection with the use of the venue and the Hirer releases Otao Kitchen from all liability for any such loss, damage, death or injury.
2. Indemnity - The Hirer indemnifies and holds harmless the Otao Kitchen and its employees, agents and invitees against all claims resulting from any loss, damage, death or injury suffered or sustained in connection with the use of the Room.
3. Settings - All equipment and rooms must be returned to standard settings and/or the condition to which it was hired. Standard setting will be advised by Otao Kitchen once booking confirmed. 
4. Food and Beverage - Unless agreed by the Otao Kitchen, outside food and beverage must not be consumed in the venue. You may consume foods from your own cooking classes. 

BREACH OF AGREEMENT

1. Otao Kitchen and Manager reserve the right at their discretion not to approve any application or to cancel the agreement at any time for any breach of policy or procedure. Failure to comply with the requirements of this policy will be regarded as a breach of agreement, giving the venue the right to cancel or sue for recovery of any amount due.

STEPS FOR KITCHEN HIRE 

1. Before you can use our facility you need to contact the Environmental Health Department of the City of Yarra, to determine what registration requirements apply for your particular situation.
2. We can help you with the registration process, and you will need to supply us with evidence of registration before you can start work in the kitchen. We have identified all the relevant food safety hazards for the premises, and have record sheets at every critical control point. Your nominated food safety supervisor is responsible for completing record sheets during the time you use the kitchen, and in accordance with your Food Safety Plan.
3. We charge an hourly/daily fee which is customised for each client. The fee covers all equipment in the kitchen and includes utilities costs, some small appliances, cleaning products etc. Discounts apply for multiple advance bookings and for shared-use arrangements. For long term hirer, we may tell you to pay extra if the use of energy or water is more than our operation.
4. The minimum rental period is 4 hours. Full payment is required prior to occupying the kitchen. Payment options include bank transfer, cash and credit card. Cheques are accepted by prior arrangement only. Fees, charges, booking and cancellation terms are provided to you in writing when you meet with us and inspect the premises.
5. Our nominal operating hours are 6am to 10pm weekdays. All bookings are by appointment and include evenings and weekends.
6. The kitchen space can accommodate two parties at the same time. This is dependent however on a number of factors including what types of food each party is preparing and associated equipment and food safety requirements. If we can accommodate a sharing arrangement, this will be made available at a reduced hourly rate to both parties.
7. A separate and self-contained kitchen space is available for longer term use, typically for cooking classes, product development, equipment trials, increasing production volume, etc.
8. If arranged, we can accept deliveries from your suppliers directly to our kitchen, but items are received at your own risk. We can also offer short-term storage of dry, frozen/chilled ingredients plus limited short-tem storage of your finished products. Storage is subject to availability at the time, and fees may apply.
9. We have our public liability insurance, but you are responsible for insurance of your products, accident insurance for your clients and staff, and product liability.