North Canberra Hospital redevelopment to cost $1.5 billion, ready by 2031

Canberra's public hospital system is set for a significant upgrade with the North Canberra Hospital redevelopment, a project now carrying a $1.5 billion price tag and a projected completion date of 2031. The ACT government has committed $1.34 billion to the project over the next seven years, fulfilling a 2024 ACT Labor election promise to replace the existing hospital at Bruce.

The first stage of the redevelopment will feature a new seven-story clinical services building. This facility will house a state-of-the-art emergency department, a 14-bed intensive care unit, and eight operating theaters. Additionally, it will include a birth center with six birthing suites, a maternity inpatient unit, and a special care nursery. While some existing buildings on the northern side of the precinct, including the current childcare center, will be demolished, a new 100-place childcare center is planned.

“

Those were required in order to ensure that we could move ... and open a new childcare centre before we demolish the current one, [and] move some of the services that are currently on the northern block.

Construction on the main building is now expected to commence in 2027-2028, a delay attributed by Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith to the time required for environmental assessments and detailed design work. "Those were required in order to ensure that we could move ... and open a new childcare centre before we demolish the current one, [and] move some of the services that are currently on the northern block," she explained.

Stephen-Smith highlighted that the staged redevelopment aims to minimize disruption and maintain affordability. Services such as mental health will remain in their current locations and potentially expand on-site until a second stage of construction. Extensive consultation has informed the hospital's design, with feedback leading to an expansion of parking facilities to over 700 spaces, addressing concerns about the current scarcity of parking.

“

We've certainly heard the feedback from people about parking and anyone who's been to North Canberra Hospital recently will find that parking is extremely hard to come by.