North Coast NSW Ambulance temporary accommodation

Contact point

Picture of Trish Ferreira
Trish Ferreira Regional Director 0400 697 145

Background

The NSW Northern Rivers region was hit with catastrophic floods throughout February and March 2022. This affected operations at the Lismore Ambulance Station and Education Centre, with floods rendering the building non-operational.

NSW Public Works (NSWPW) were engaged by NSW Ambulance to enable station and office facilities to be managed at a temporary location for approximately 3-5 years.

This allowed the ambulance service to continue operating throughout the challenging recovery period, while assessments were made on the damaged Lismore Ambulance Station and Education Centre.

Our role

Following the 2022 floods, Lismore Ambulance began managing their emergency operations out of a block at Southern Cross University (SCU), Lismore campus.

NSWPW provided full procurement, contract administration and project management services for the upgrade of existing facilities at SCU to accommodate ambulance requirements.

This included engaging and managing a consultant to design the ambulance zone, and a separate contractor to deliver the scope of works.

NSWPW were also engaged to enable the NSW Ambulance educational facilities to be temporarily established in the former Northern Star Building at Goonellabah, as a separate project.

Ambulance at station

Key facts

  • Project completion: March 2024.
  • Temporary ambulance accommodation created at SCU.
  • Two open spaces were repurposed into 8 new rooms, including a training room, lounge, office, gym, and male and female change rooms for ambulance staff.
  • The upgrade of Lismore ambulance’s temporary accommodation provided ambulance staff with a working operational facility they can use to service the community.

Outcomes

The upgrade of existing facilities at SCU provided ambulance staff with a working operational facility they can use to service the community.

Two open spaces at SCU were repurposed into 8 new rooms, including a training room, lounge, office, gym, and male and female change rooms for ambulance staff. These facilities were designed within NSW Ambulance guidelines, creating functional spaces for emergency vehicles and staff training and activities.

The collaboration with SCU has been the key to this project’s success, and SCU’s ability to accommodate Lismore Ambulance on their flood-free site has been critical in helping Lismore in its recovery efforts.

NSWPW were able to draw on our extensive experience in health infrastructure and emergency response to deliver this project on time and within budget.