Project overview
Dunmore Rd, Dunmore NSW 2529
More than $780 million has been committed to deliver new and improved health facilities for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.
A new Shellharbour Hospital is being built at Dunmore Road, Dunmore, as well as improvements to Wollongong Hospital, a refurbishment of Bulli Hospital and a new Community Health Centre on the old Port Kembla Hospital site.
News and updates
Local students name cranes at new Shellharbour Hospital construction site
Two tower cranes supporting the delivery of the more than $780 million new Shellharbour Hospital will officially be known as “Anita Lift” and “Shane”, after being named by two local school students.

Residents learn more about the progress of New Shellharbour Hospital
Residents recently had the opportunity to learn about the progress of the new Shellharbour Hospital at an onsite ‘Meet the builder’ event.

New Shellharbour Hospital honours local Indigenous creation story
A cultural smoking ceremony was held on the site of the new Shellharbour Hospital to acknowledge the significant contribution local Aboriginal groups have made in the design of the new hospital.

Project information
The Australian and NSW Governments have committed over $780 million to develop the New Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services project, which includes:
- a new Shellharbour Hospital at Dunmore Road, Dunmore (in delivery)
- expanded sub-acute services at Bulli Hospital (complete)
- new rehabilitation and palliative care beds at Wollongong Hospital (complete)
- new community health centre in Warrawong which will be built on the old Port Kembla Hospital (in delivery).
Benefits
The project will:
- Provide better patient experience and health outcomes.
- Improve value for money.
- Increase sustainability.
- Provide greater services accessibility.
- Improve workforce safety and benefits.
- Meet the increased demand for healthcare services in the Illawarra region.
- Align community health, aged, rehabilitation and palliative care services across the region to provide optimal models of care and service efficiency.
- Increase clinical services capacity with the potential for an extended range of contemporary health services.
Scope
A new health facility providing:
- an expanded Emergency Department
- specialised elective surgery services
- rehabilitation and aged care services
- acute medical services
- expanded mental health services
- new drug and alcohol unit
- renal dialysis
- outpatients care services
- car parking and improved public transport links
- realignment of community health and sub-acute services across the region.
A brand new hospital will be built at Dunmore Road, Dunmore and will provide the local community with:
- an expanded emergency department
- enhanced paediatric services including a new Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU)
- specialised elective surgery services
- rehabilitation and aged care services
- acute medical services
- expanded mental health services
- new drug and alcohol unit
- renal dialysis
- outpatients care services
- car parking and improved public transport links.
This important piece of infrastructure will provide more care closer to people's homes, reducing the need to travel out of the area for treatment. The new hospital will include state-of-the-art facilities for emergency and critical care, mental health, medicine and surgery, rehabilitation and ambulatory care in a new location where we will continue to care for the community well into the future.
The new hospital will play a significant role in the District's service network and will be a significantly larger and more capable hospital. It will:
- become the District's specialist elective surgical centre, with an efficient high volume short stay model delivered in specific facilities
- continue to be the District's centre for mental health inpatient care, with new recovery-orientated facilities
- cater for the local (and growing) community for a range of services through a significant increase in size and capability.
Construction of the new hospital is now underway and is expected to be complete in 2027.

Work to deliver the new Warrawong Community Health Centre, part of the $780 million New Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services Project is currently underway. The new community health centre is being built on a portion of land on Port Kembla Hospital site.
The new Warrawong Community Health Centre will provide essential community-based health services such as community nursing, child and family health and mental health support.
Services at the new Warrawong Community Health Centre will include:
- Kids and families
- child and adult allied health services
- audiology – servicing paediatrics to adulthood
- Warrawong Child and Family Health Nurse Service
- Binji and Boori (Aboriginal Maternal Infant Child Health Service)
- antenatal services
- Community health nurse led clinics
- asthma
- continence
- stoma
- wound care
- Drug and alcohol
- Needle and Syringe Program (First Step Program)
- drug and alcohol counselling service
- Sexual health service
- Community mental health
- Equipment loan pool
- A loan pool of aides to support rehabilitation at home, for example walking frame, wheelchair or hoists.
Construction of the community health centre is expected to be completed in 2026.

The new Bulli Hospital Hospital was opened in 2020 and has provided excellent healthcare services to the local community.
In August 2021, the NSW Government announced it would refurbish the Bulli Aged Care facility for rehabilitation and palliative care services. The work includes:
- upgrades to improve fire services
- additional outside/fresh air and internal air change rate improvements
installing a new plant - internal enhacement to hydraulic, electrical and ICT based services for health and general facility integration
- minor upgrades to some external balconies
- upgrades to provide a Day Rehabilitation Hospital.
Construction work, carried out by Huchinson Builders, is now complete.

Wollongong Hospital has undergone a small refurbishment to transform rehabilitation services, delivering improved and contemporary facilities.
The refurbishments for the rehabilitation services included:
- enhanced activities of daily living facilities to be co-located with the ward
- a dedicated rehabilitation gym
Work has now been completed.

Project timeline
Building a hospital involved 3 key phases – planning, design and delivery.
Planning
August 2022 | New Shellharbour Hospital site acquired. |
November 2022 | Master plan and concept plans released |
August 2024 | Main works contractor awarded for New Shellharbour Hospital. |
November 2024 | Main works contractor awarded for new Warrawong Community Health Centre. |
Design
Delivery
October 2024 | Construction starts on New Shellharbour Hospital |
May 2025 | Construction starts on new Warrawong Community Health Centre |
Frequently asked questions
Our population is growing and our people are living longer with chronic and complex illnesses. By 2031, the Shoalhaven catchment is forecast to grow 12%, with significantly faster population growth in the 70+ age groups.
To provide high quality, accessible healthcare for our growing population, we need a significantly larger hospital, in both size and capability. The future hospital needs to be close to transport links and integrated with a wide range of health services to better serve the needs of our community now and into the future.
We also want to incorporate the lessons, the insights and the many breakthroughs we've made as a health service during COVID-19 to future-proof our services and the buildings that house them.
We will work closely with our neighbours to ensure impacts are minimised as much as possible. When required notices or letters are sent out to inform neighbours of any upcoming works that they may be interested in. There are also stringent rules built into construction contracts to ensure the builders or contractors minimise impacts on the site.
Importantly, the new hospital is set back from Dunmore Road and will be surrounded by trees and specific landscaping to ensue visual and noise impacts are minimised.
Port Kembla Hospital was officially opened in 1965 and is coming to the end of its useful life.
Hospital design has advanced greatly since Port Kembla was opened, including in the design of patient wards, the use of technology, work health and safety considerations and functionality. Our facilities need to be fit for purpose and reflect contemporary ways of working. All inpatient units have been relocated from Port Kembla Hospital to newly refurbished facilities in the District. Community based services are still operating from the Port Kembla Hospital site.
The NSW Government purchased a brand new unused aged care centre co-located on the Bulli Hospital campus.
The NSW Government identified that purchasing this facility will improve the District’s network of healthcare services, increasing sub-acute bed capacity and enabling implementation of contemporary models of care.
Acquiring this facility has also given the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District a unique opportunity to relocate some services to a brand new and modern facility built to cater for our ageing population.
Refurbishments at the facility located next to Bulli Hospital included bringing the facility up to clinical and hospital grade standards and delivery of a brand new rehabilitation gym. This work was completed in August 2023.
The Day Rehabilitation Unit, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care Wards relocated from Port Kembla Hospital to Bulli Hospital. Staff are now working in a modern space, while the palliative care patients have private rooms, with access to outdoor areas, large windows, large flatscreen TVs and their own bathrooms.
Community engagement and culture
Community engagement
Our team has been working closely with families and community to plan the new facilities and create the best possible experience for patients and carers.
We'll share an update on consumer engagement shortly, and provide you with more information about how to get involved soon.

Arts in Health
The new Shellharbour Hospital project will include a comprehensive Arts and Culture Strategy to create a warm, welcoming and vibrant hospital that promotes health and wellbeing. Beautiful artistic spaces can also help with wayfinding and ensure indoor and outdoor spaces complement health service delivery.

Related documents
Project documents
Download project documents including plans, designs and approvals.
Media gallery
Related projects
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Interested in the New Shellharbour Hospital project?
Email our team at HI-shellharbourdevelopment@health.nsw.gov.au for regular eNews updates.
Contact our project team
- Address: Dunmore Road, Dunmore NSW 2021
- Post: Locked Bag 2030, St Leonards NSW 1590