Bendigo Health's $630M expansion transforms the city's healthcare capacity

The $630 million expansion of the Bendigo Health campus — which will, on completion in 2027, more than double the hospital's capacity and add clinical services that central Victoria has never had locally — has passed the halfway point of its construction program, with the new cancer centre structure completed and the expanded emergency department fit-out underway following the resolution of procurement delays that affected specialist medical equipment delivery schedules in the project's first half.

Bendigo Health chief executive Peter Faulkner described the expansion as "a generational investment in the health of people across central Victoria," noting that the new oncology services, expanded surgical capacity, and improved specialist outpatient facilities would eliminate or substantially reduce the need for patients in the Loddon Mallee region to travel to Melbourne for treatments that the expanded Bendigo campus will be able to provide locally.

The construction program has generated approximately $180 million in procurement for Victorian and central Victorian businesses over the first three years, with the project's local content strategy having directed significant shares of civil, mechanical, and electrical subcontracting to Bendigo and regional Victorian businesses. Several Bendigo construction businesses report that the hospital project has been their largest single construction contract and has enabled workforce and capability growth that will position them for further major project work after the hospital expansion is complete.

The clinical workforce recruitment program for the expanded hospital is underway, with Bendigo Health having secured commitments from specialist medical practitioners in oncology, cardiology, and surgical disciplines to establish or expand their Bendigo practice alongside the expanded hospital infrastructure. The medical workforce that relocates to Bendigo to support the expanded services will add professional household incomes to the local economy that flow through the retail, hospitality, property, and professional services sectors.

Deakin University's School of Medicine partnership with Bendigo Health provides clinical training placements for medical graduates who are completing their clinical year in Bendigo, creating a talent pipeline that the expanded hospital is expected to benefit from as some of the placement graduates make Bendigo their preferred practice location after graduation.

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