Children with chronic and complex health conditions and their families are set to benefit from an additional $40.1 million investment in the NSW Government’s 2025-26 Budget to create the first complex care centre of its kind in Australia named the ‘Kookaburra Centre’.
The funding, in partnership with the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, will enable the fit out of the new centre within the new Paediatric Services Building at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
The funding will be a part of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Stage 2 Redevelopment, bringing the total investment to $659.1 million.
Children with multiple chronic and complex health conditions often require a multidisciplinary team of clinicians to provide diagnosis and on-going care. The Kookaburra Centre will be the first of its kind in Australia and custom designed to centralise this specialised care, said NSW Health Minister, Ryan Park.
“The Children’s Hospital at Westmead does incredible work, providing quality care and clinical services to more than 94,000 sick and injured children each year,” said Mr Park.
“By working with the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, we are going to be able to deliver world-class care and state-of-the-art infrastructure to the children and families who need it most, coordinating all of their care in one central location.
“The Kookaburra Centre’s innovative, home-like facilities will enable specialist treatment to accommodate the specific needs of patients and ensure families are an integral part of their care.”
Technology will be a critical part of the design of the centre, with remote monitoring implemented to offer 24-7 monitoring capabilities, and to connect patients with off-site medical teams and other people important to the wellbeing of the child and family.
“The Centre will transform the model of care for treating patients with chronic and complex medical conditions, bringing together medical teams from various specialties to collaborate and co-ordinate personalised care in one location,” said SCHN Director of Clinical Operations, Dr Joanne Ging.
“This approach is completely unique and will not only improve a family’s experience while they are in hospital, but thanks to virtual care technology, it will also enable a seamless transition back home – whether that be in metro, rural or regional NSW.”
In addition to the Kookaburra Centre, the new Paediatric Services Building will expand capacity at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead to include:
- A new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- Perioperative Unit
- NSW Paediatric Burns Unit
- Cancer Services
- Pharmacy
- Inpatient units
- Additional isolation capacity
- Family and play areas.
The Government says design and planning will be informed through extensive community consultation with clinicians, patients and their families.
The new Paediatric Services Building is currently being constructed by RobertsCo and is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. It will connect with the new Emergency Department, medical imaging and short stay unit delivered through Stage 1 of the Redevelopment in March 2021.
