WA’s new Women and Babies Hospital has progressed from planning into the design stage, a major milestone for the $1.8 billion project expected to create more than 1,400 jobs during construction and provide world-class maternity and women’s health facilities for generations of Western Australian families. The hospital forms one of the largest single components of the state government’s broader $5.5 billion health infrastructure investment program.
The project sits alongside major upgrades to Royal Perth Hospital, Peel Health Campus and the transition of Mt Lawley Hospital into public ownership, alongside public and private investment at Joondalup Health Campus, representing one of the most significant health infrastructure investment programs in the state’s history.
Why a New Women and Babies Hospital Is Needed
WA’s existing maternity and women’s health facilities have faced sustained capacity pressure driven by the state’s rapid population growth, the fastest of any Australian state or territory in recent years, translating directly into higher birth numbers and demand for specialist women’s health services across the public system. A purpose-built, modern facility designed around current best-practice maternity care models offers the opportunity to address capacity constraints while also incorporating design improvements that reflect decades of advances in maternity and neonatal care since the state’s existing facilities were originally built.
Health planners have consistently emphasised that purpose-designed maternity facilities, rather than adapted general hospital wards, deliver meaningfully better outcomes for mothers and babies, supporting the case for a dedicated new facility rather than incremental upgrades to existing infrastructure.
Federal Funding Boost
The project has been further strengthened by recently announced multi-billion-dollar additional funding from the Commonwealth for WA hospitals, reflecting growing federal recognition of the pressure WA’s rapidly growing population has placed on the state’s health infrastructure. With $1.6 billion in health infrastructure spending allocated through to 2026-27 alone, the broader program represents a sustained, multi-year commitment rather than a single budget cycle initiative.
Economic and Employment Benefits
Beyond the direct healthcare benefits, the hospital’s construction phase is expected to create more than 1,400 jobs, spanning construction trades, project management and specialist medical facility fit-out roles, adding to the broader employment generated across WA’s current wave of major infrastructure investment. Once operational, the hospital will also require substantial ongoing clinical and support staffing, adding to demand within WA’s already stretched health workforce.
Part of a Statewide Health Infrastructure Push
The Women and Babies Hospital forms one part of a much broader health infrastructure agenda spanning metropolitan and regional WA, reflecting the scale of investment state officials argue is necessary to keep pace with population growth while also addressing the state’s well-documented workforce shortages across nursing, medical and allied health professions. Industry events including a dedicated forum on delivering the next generation of WA health infrastructure have brought together government, industry and design leaders to discuss how these major projects can drive economic growth and community benefit while setting new benchmarks for social infrastructure design.
What Comes Next
With the project now moving through the design stage, attention turns to construction timelines and the practical process of translating design plans into a fully operational facility capable of serving WA families for decades to come. For a state grappling with persistent healthcare workforce shortages even as new capacity comes online, the true measure of the new hospital’s success will ultimately depend on WA’s ability to staff it adequately once construction is complete.
