Imagine a child who, for various reasons, thrives in environments where they receive personal attention—a place where they can learn vital life-saving skills like swimming, away from overwhelming crowds and noise. Sunny Skye's Aquatics and Wellness Hub provides just that for the Gold Coast community. It's a small, family-owned swim school dedicated to offering highly specialised, low-ratio swimming lessons. Yet, our ability to continue offering these essential services to our local families and children of all abilities is threatened by an unjust financial burden.

The Gold Coast City Council has imposed an infrastructure charge of over $129,000 on our pre-existing building, categorizing our usage as needing a 'change of use'. While we understand the necessity for infrastructure fees, and we need to pay something for the small extension we put on the existing building, the severity and scale of this financial levy outweigh the benefits and support we offer to the community. Our small business cannot shoulder this cost and still manage to operate effectively, hire staff, and provide these crucial services.

Sunny Skye's is not a large commercial entity; we are a community cornerstone playing a critical role in the development of children across the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, with this financial imposition, countless children will lose the only facility tailored to teach them in a quieter, more personalized environment—a place many families rely on to ensure their children learn essential swimming skills, including those with different abilities.

We kindly ask the Gold Coast City Council to urgently reconsider and either waive the imposed infrastructure charges or find a more reasonable fee. By doing so, you'll ensure that we continue supporting local families and significantly impacting the lives of children who need us most.

Every signature is a step towards keeping Sunny Skye's doors open and continuing our mission to make a difference in the lives of children. Please sign this petition to help us convince the council to offer a lifeline to our invaluable community resource.