Published on Apr 22, 2026
The Queensland Government has announced the completion of the Concept Design phase for the new Coomera Hospital, marking a significant planning milestone in the delivery of the state’s Hospital Rescue Plan and confirming a substantially expanded facility for the fast-growing northern Gold Coast corridor. The redesigned hospital precinct departs materially from the previous plan and will comprise two interconnected buildings: a 12-storey Clinical Services Building housing the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Operating Theatres, Mental Health, Maternity, Paediatric and Renal services, together with multiple inpatient wards; and a seven-storey Ambulatory Care Building delivering outpatient clinics, Day Oncology, Allied Health, Pathology and education facilities. The two buildings will be connected via link bridges, forming a unified health campus. Multi-storey and on-grade car parking will also be delivered as part of the precinct. The project is structured as a staged rollout, with Stage 1 targeting a fully operational 400-bed hospital by 2031, with structural provisions built into the design from the outset to accommodate Stage 2, which will add a further 200 beds by 2032, bringing the total bed count to at least 600. Multiplex Constructions, appointed as Managing Contractor for the project in June 2023, remains engaged on the programme, with main construction works ramping up in the second half of 2026. The Coomera site already has early works underway, and contractor procurement for Stage 1 delivery commenced in early 2026.
The Coomera Hospital’s redesign is impossible to discuss without understanding the political and planning history that produced it. The previous Labor government’s $1.3 billion, 404-bed plan for the hospital was subject to an independent review that found it had suffered an almost $1 billion cost blowout, had ignored Queensland Health’s clinical advice recommending 600 beds rather than 400, and had omitted essential services including a pharmacy, pathology and an outpatients department. That combination of fiscal overrun and clinical under-provision is almost uniquely damaging for a public hospital project, because it simultaneously erodes the budget case and the clinical case for the original scope. The incoming Crisafulli Government placed the redesign at the centre of its Hospital Rescue Plan, describing it as the largest hospital infrastructure investment in Queensland’s history and committing to at least 2,600 extra beds across new builds, expansions and upgrades statewide.
For Coomera specifically, the urgency is demographic as much as political. The northern Gold Coast is consistently ranked among the fastest-growing corridors in Queensland, with the hospital’s catchment population expected to nearly double by 2036. The new design’s provision for structural expansion capacity built in from Stage 1 reflects that growth pressure directly, and the decision to include pathology, pharmacy, outpatients and allied health from the outset corrects what was the most clinically significant gap in the prior plan. The broader Gold Coast health system, which currently relies on Gold Coast University Hospital and Robina Hospital to absorb northern catchment demand, stands to benefit materially from a functional Coomera facility, and the target of around 1,000 workers on site at construction peak will also represent a significant economic contribution to the local construction market. This push to expand healthcare capacity mirrors similar developments elsewhere in Australia, including the recently approved Seven-bed facility project in Swanbourne, highlighting how both major hospitals and smaller specialised healthcare builds are being fast-tracked to meet rising population-driven service demand.
Design Configuration, Clinical Services and Staged Delivery Programme
- 12-storey Clinical Services Building: Emergency Department, ICU, Operating Theatres, Mental Health, Maternity, Paediatric, Renal services and multiple inpatient wards
- Seven-storey Ambulatory Care Building: outpatient clinics, Day Oncology, Allied Health, Pathology, education facilities
- Buildings connected by link bridges forming an integrated health precinct
- Multi-storey and on-grade car parking included in the precinct plan
- Stage 1 (by 2031): fully operational 400-bed hospital including emergency department, operating theatres, maternity, special care nursery and mental health inpatient units
- Stage 2 (by 2032): additional 200 beds including day surgery, renal dialysis, oncology, minor injuries clinic and palliative care unit
- Total bed count on full completion: at least 600 overnight beds
- Structural provisions for Stage 2 embedded in the Stage 1 building design
- Peak construction workforce: approximately 1,000 workers on site
- Main construction ramp-up: second half of 2026
- Early works: already underway on site
Project Fact Sheet
- Project Name: New Coomera Hospital
- Location: Coomera, northern Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Owner/Client: Queensland Government (Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service / Health Infrastructure Queensland)
- Managing Contractor: Multiplex Constructions — appointed June 2023
- Programme: Queensland Government Hospital Rescue Plan (fully funded)
- Programme Context: Part of the largest hospital infrastructure investment in Queensland’s history, delivering more than 2,600 new beds statewide
- Total Bed Provision: at least 600 overnight beds (400 in Stage 1; additional 200 in Stage 2)
- Building 1: 12-storey Clinical Services Building
- Building 2: Seven-storey Ambulatory Care Building
- Connection: Link bridges between buildings
- Stage 1 Completion Target: 2031
- Stage 2 Completion Target: 2032
- Main Construction Commencement: second half of 2026
- Concept Design Completion: April 2026
- Peak Workforce: approximately 1,000 workers on site
- Previous Project Value (cancelled plan): AUD 1.3 billion (Labor government programme, subject to cost blowout of almost AUD 1 billion before redesign)
- Previous Planned Beds (cancelled): 404
- Clinical Services (Stage 1): Emergency Department, ICU, Operating Theatres, Maternity, Special Care Nursery, Mental Health Inpatient
- Clinical Services (Stage 2): Day Surgery, Renal Dialysis, Oncology, Minor Injuries Clinic, Palliative Care
Project Team
- Owner/Programme Authority: Queensland Government — delivery managed through Health Infrastructure Queensland (HIQ) and Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS)
- Minister for Health and Ambulance Services: The Honourable Tim Nicholls — responsible minister for the Hospital Rescue Plan programme and lead government spokesperson for the Coomera milestone announcement
- Premier of Queensland: David Crisafulli — leader of the Crisafulli Government, under whose Hospital Rescue Plan the redesign and delivery programme is being executed
- Managing Contractor: Multiplex Constructions — awarded the managing contractor role in June 2023 under the previous government’s programme; retained on the redesigned project for design and construction delivery
- Architecture Team: Architectus
- Infrastructure Delivery Authority: Health Infrastructure Queensland (HIQ) — Queensland Government agency responsible for hospital infrastructure planning and delivery statewide, serving as the project delivery partner alongside GCHHS
- Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS): the health service operating the existing Gold Coast University Hospital and Robina Hospital, which will be partially relieved by Coomera upon commissioning; engaged in clinical user group consultation informing the design
- Executive Director, Infrastructure Project Delivery and Commissioning, GCHHS: Richard Christensen — previously cited as overseeing on-site delivery milestones during prior construction phases
- Member for Coomera: Michael Crandon — provided commentary on the construction workforce and local economic impact of the project
- Member for Theodore: Mark Boothman — provided commentary at the concept design milestone announcement
