Community groups that use school halls could be in for a steep fee hike next year as the government moves to a central booking system amid a shortage of indoor sport facilities.
Small businesses and organisations are still in the dark about what it will mean for their overheads, with fears classes will have to be cancelled if the new fees are too expensive.
Taekwondo Canberra owner Daniel Perez hires five school halls for his classes and understands in some cases the costs could increase from about $30 per hour to more than $100 per hour under the centralised system.
He said he could cope with the price increase in larger venues that could hold more students, but training may have to cease in smaller venues.
"This is my business, it will impact me a fair bit," he said.
Currently each public school sets its own hiring fees for community groups to use spaces such as indoor courts and dance studios.
The fees vary dramatically between schools and some longstanding users have been able to negotiate lower rates than others.
Groups have only been able to sign hire agreements for six months in anticipation of the new system.
An ACT Education Directorate spokesperson said it was currently reviewing its policies and procedures for community hire of school facilities to provide consistency across all schools.
"This includes developing a new community fee structure that reflects a cost recovery model," the spokesperson said.
"Where fees change, there will be transition plans for those paying current hire fees."
The education directorate was expecting the new model to be in place for the start of the 2023 school year.
"More information will be available for schools and community users in the coming months," the spokesperson said.
On Sunday, the directorate spokesperson said "other than the normal small CPI increases, there will be no change to hire fees while we consult with the community and work through this review."
Basketball ACT chief executive David Simpson said his organisation had been advocating for a centralised system to reduce the workload of volunteers who had to contact each school individually.
"It's a minefield figuring out where you can book," Mr Simpson said.
"We've got a staff member who spends half of her time ringing school to school trying to find courts."
An overall shortage of courts has meant hundreds of people have been turned away from playing basketball, Mr Simpson said.
Basketball ACT has been pushing for funding to build courts on the land adjacent to its Belconnen facility.
"When you look at it from operational perspective, schools can't be the answer for this," Mr Simpson said.
Badminton ACT president Olaf Schuermann said badminton clubs could have double the current membership of 950 if there were more indoor sports facilities available.
"The new hire system is supposed to just 'manage the deck chairs' a little better, although in my experience centralising everything and removing control from schools will not work and only lead to increased frustration," Mr Schuermann said.
ACT Sport and Education Minister Yvette Berry said an increase in participation in sport and recreation had put pressure on availability of indoor courts.
"I'll continue to work with those sports about the kinds of facilities that they need and how we can meet their needs into the future. At the moment, we're doing that through making sure that our education facilities are available for hire," she said.
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