RMIT University is investing $30 million in 2026 to bolster its health and care capability, supporting Melbourne's northern growth corridor and meeting critical skills needs in Victoria and across the nation.
The majority of the investment centres on building and expanding RMIT's health capabilities at its Bundoora campus, which will become a precinct for both vocational and higher education programs, research and industry partnerships.
The $30 million will be used to upgrade existing infrastructure, deliver new equipment, and build on the precinct's state-of-the-art technology; improving students' access to simulated real-world medical environments so they have the skills they need to be job ready.
It will also support areas for applied research in MedTech, digital health, food innovation and public health with initiatives across the City and Bundoora campuses, with additional investment planned in 2027 and 2028.
Part of the investment will create a node of the RMIT Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the nation, that serves as a hub for advanced research and collaboration across science, engineering, and health.
The establishment of the node will provide researchers and partners, including Northern Health, with access to electron microscopy, cryo-analysis and advanced optical imaging instrumentation enabling biomedical and medical technology research and translation.
As Australia's largest dual-sector university, RMIT is uniquely placed to help address workforce challenges by providing students with greater access to skills and employment pathways through innovative learning models and industry partnerships.
About 7,000 students undertook health-related programs across vocational and higher education at RMIT in 2025, helping to meet the statewide requirement for 3,550 health and care workers in 2026.
This investment is the latest in a series of commitments by RMIT to support one of Melbourne's fastest growing regions. In 2025, the University invested $20 million to establish a Trades Innovation Centre at the Bundoora East campus, helping to create a pipeline of job-ready construction workers.
Quotes attributable to RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Alec Cameron:
"This investment underlines RMIT's commitment in health to provide high quality education for our students, so they can make a positive impact in the communities they will go on to work within.
"This means we need to continue to increase funding to advance our learning and teaching facilities, strengthen our community and industry partnerships, invest in capital improvements and prioritise education programs which will help meet Australia's workforce demands.
"Our Bundoora campus is an important connector between the University and Melbourne's culturally diverse and rapidly expanding Northern Corridor, an area of over 620,000 residents which experiences complex health challenges and difficulty in accessing health services.
"We intend to work more closely with our partners like Northern Health to ensure we are playing a meaningful role in assisting this underserved community."
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