Canterbury Hospital Redevelopment launches Social Impact Assessment
The NSW Government is investing $350 million in the Canterbury Hospital Redevelopment to expand the facility and deliver upgrades to existing infrastructure.
A Social Impact Assessment (SIA) helps us understand how a major project, such as a hospital redevelopment, may affect the people and communities around it. It ensures the voices, needs and experiences of those who live, work, visit or receive care in the area are considered throughout planning and decision-making.
What is a Social Impact Assessment?
A Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a structured process that identifies and analyses the social changes that might occur when a new development is proposed. These changes can be positive or negative, obvious or subtle, and experienced differently by different groups within a community.
An SIA looks at both:
- Direct social impacts – for example, changes to local access, services or day-to-day activities.
- Indirect social impacts – such as shifts in community identity, sense of place or perceptions about the project.
Because social impacts vary widely, the SIA process examines a broad suite of factors, including way of life, community cohesion, accessibility, culture, health and wellbeing, surroundings, and livelihoods.
What does an SIA aim to achieve?
An SIA places people at the centre of planning. It aims to:
It identifies the likely social impacts across key areas such as lifestyle, connection to place, community function, access to services, wellbeing and more.
The SIA considers a wide range of groups, individuals, households, staff, patients, community organisations, local businesses and more, recognising that each group may experience the project differently.
The SIA recommends practical ways to avoid or mitigate potential negative impacts, while enhancing benefits such as improved health services, greater accessibility or strengthened community amenity.
It supports early, open and ongoing engagement so communities feel informed, heard and involved. This ensures community priorities and concerns are integrated into the project’s planning and design.
By considering social impacts alongside technical and environmental factors, an SIA helps guide decisions that are fair, sustainable and aligned with community values.
In simple terms
An SIA helps ensure that as we plan and build for the future, we don’t just focus on the infrastructure itself, we focus on the people. It allows us to understand how the project may affect everyday lives and supports us to take steps that strengthen community wellbeing.
This approach helps deliver developments that leave a positive and lasting legacy for patients, staff, residents, businesses and the broader community.
Learn more about Social Impact Assessments here.
To learn more about the Canterbury Hospital Redevelopment, please visit the project page.