Ballarat Base Hospital expansion reaches construction midpoint

The $756 million expansion of the Ballarat Base Hospital has reached its construction midpoint, with the new surgical tower framed and the expanded emergency department infrastructure underway following the completion of the structural works that have dominated the construction program for the past 14 months. The project is tracking to its 2027 completion target following the resolution of a subcontractor dispute that caused a six-week delay to the mechanical services installation schedule in the first half of 2025.

Grampians Health chief executive Dale Fraser said the construction progress represented a milestone for western Victoria's healthcare capacity, noting that the expanded hospital would increase Ballarat's surgical capacity by 40 per cent and its emergency department capacity by 30 per cent once fully operational.

The construction program has generated significant economic activity in the Ballarat region, with the project's local subcontracting strategy having directed more than 65 per cent of trade and materials procurement to Victorian and regional Victorian businesses. Ballarat-based construction businesses have been among the primary beneficiaries, with several local trades contractors having secured their largest single construction contracts through the hospital project.

The expanded hospital will add approximately 450 permanent full-time equivalent positions to the Ballarat healthcare workforce when it reaches full operational capacity, representing one of the largest single employment expansions in the region's history. Grampians Health has commenced recruitment for clinical leadership positions in the new services that the expanded capacity will support, with applications from healthcare professionals interested in the expanded opportunity having been strong.

The project will also include a new medical education facility in partnership with Deakin University's School of Medicine, which delivers the Ballarat-based clinical training program for medical graduates that has been a source of both workforce and economic activity for the region since the program's establishment.

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