The Minns Labor Government's second Budget is continuing to work to deliver the long-term repair and structural reform of healthcare across NSW.
No matter where you live across the State you should have access to essential healthcare.
The Government has been working on a comprehensive plan which focuses on ensuring communities across the State have the essential services they rely on.
The 2024-25 Budget continues this work by:
- investing in the retention and recruitment of health workers in the regions
- delivering a major investment in regional health and hospital infrastructure
- improving access to care for families with a focus on regional NSW.
Investing in our frontline health workers across the regions
The 2024-25 NSW Budget will deliver more frontline health workers to communities that need them most, including:
- $274.7 million to boost staffing at new and upgraded hospitals across the State as part of the Essential Health Services Fund including at Tweed, Bowral, Wentworth, Cowra, Cooma, Glen Innes and Griffith hospitals
- $200.1 million to deliver accommodation to house health workers in regional NSW to better enable us to recruit and retain essential health workers right across the State. Early assessment has identified a number of possible future locations such as Lismore, Eurobodalla, Tweed Heads and Lake Cargelligo.
When we invest in our health workers, we improve patient outcomes. That's why this Budget boost will further our work to build an engaged, capable and supported workforce through:
- making 1,112 temporary nurses permanent including hundreds in rural and regional NSW
- delivering an extra 500 regional paramedics
- abolishing the wages cap and delivering the highest wage increases for health workers in over a decade
- doubling rural health incentives
- boosting doctors in our regional GP surgeries as well as hospitals through the single employer model.
Delivering the hospital infrastructure our communities deserve
In 2024-25 alone nearly $1 billion will be invested in building and developing health infrastructure across rural and regional NSW. A further $461.5 million has been committed to health and hospital projects in regional NSW under the Building Better Health initiative.
This includes:
- Additional funding of $196.5 million to deliver ongoing hospital redevelopments at Eurobodalla, Temora, Moree, Cessnock and Shellharbour Hospital
- An investment of $265 million in a critical Port Macquarie Hospital upgrade
- Continued investment in the Lower Mid North Coast (Manning and Forster-Tuncurry).
In addition, further investment in the 2024-25 NSW Budget by the NSW Government will see $250 million for a Critical Asset Maintenance Program ensuring much-needed maintenance across hospitals and health facilities statewide.
Improving access to care for families
The 2024-25 NSW Budget will invest $130.9 million to improve access to health care services that families need through our Family Start Package, including:
- $17.9 million to enhance essential services for vulnerable children by boosting the statewide public paediatric allied health workforce
- $2.3 million funding over four years to Royal Far West to increase support for children with developmental concerns who live outside metropolitan areas
- $21.3 million to support the first Aboriginal-owned and midwifery-led freestanding birth centre in Australia at Waminda's Gudjaga Gunyahlamai Birth Centre and Community Hub - planned for South Nowra.
A plan to build a better health system for NSW
The Minns Labor Government has outlined its plan to deliver better healthcare in NSW.
The Minns Labor Government is committed to people living across all parts of NSW and has delivered a budget which builds the foundation for better, more reliable healthcare services in rural and regional areas.
