About The Reconnect Project

The Reconnect Project is a social enterprise and charity, based in the southern suburbs of Sydney. They have a straightforward mission: “to give pre-owned mobile devices a new life by providing them to people in need.” It is the only organisation in Australia that focuses on the repair and reuse of mobile devices for the primary purpose of supporting people in need.

Through their relationships with Caseworkers at a range of social service organisations, The Reconnect Project supports people in situations of disadvantage, be it a woman re-establishing life after fleeing family violence, a refugee newly arrived in Australia, people in transitional housing arrangements or at-risk youth who require assistance. Formed in mid-2019, in their first 24 months of operation, they distributed 1,109 devices to people in need.

They opened their first standalone retail repair shopfront in Penshurst in March 2021, providing repair services to the public to generate funding for the ongoing sustainability of the organisation. The repair shopfront currently provides volunteer opportunities to five young people with autism and/or psychosocial disabilities, where they assist in repairing devices and building their skills.