- Cook Labor Government investing additional $1.5 billion to build, upgrade and maintain health infrastructure as part of 2026-27 State Budget
- Investment includes additional $500 million to the Building Hospitals Fund bringing it to $2 billion
- Government planning to deliver more than 900 beds over the next four years
- Investment to ensure Western Australians can get the healthcare they need, when and where they need it
The Cook Labor Government will invest an additional $1.5 billion in health infrastructure as part of the 2026-2027 State Budget, taking the State's total investment to $5.5 billion over the forward estimates.
The spend includes the largest building hospitals program in the State's history, with a $500million uplift to the Building Hospitals Fund - taking total allocations into the fund to $2billion over the next four years.
This additional investment will unlock the delivery of more than 900 hospital beds over the next four years across Western Australia.
The 2026-27 Budget also includes a $214.1 million increase to capital maintenance funding over the forward estimates to maintain our existing hospital infrastructure. This is in addition to the previous $50million Health Asset Maintenance Fund, and existing baseline maintenance funding.
The Cook Labor Government will also invest $36.2 million to establish a Central Commissioning Office to oversee and coordinate the sequenced operationalisation of more than 900 beds over the next four years.
The establishment of this Central Commissioning Office recognises the Cook Government is delivering a significant expansion to WA's hospital capacity, requiring a sequenced and co-ordinated program of operational readiness and commissioning activities to bring additional beds online.
As part of the Cook Labor Government's efforts to ensure Western Australians can access the care they need, when and where they need it, the government is also making progress on several other projects including the New Women and Babies Hospital.
Piling works are complete at the new hospital in Murdoch and a range of activities are now underway in preparation for a series of concrete pours that will begin in the coming weeks.
Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"This year's State Budget is about delivering for Western Australia.
"That means continuing to deliver our priorities of jobs, health and housing.
"We are responsibly managing our finances and keeping WA's economy the strongest in the nation, which means we can continue to deliver our record Building Hospitals program announced last year.
"This will ensure every Western Australia can access the healthcare they need, when they need it."
Comments attributed to Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey:
"The Cook Labor Government developed the new Office of Major Infrastructure Delivery to speed up procurement, and that has led to substantial progress across our portfolio of health infrastructure projects.
"We're investing record amounts in health infrastructure, and have changed how we deliver major projects, challenging remote hospital builds and maintenance across the public health system.
"Our $5.5 billion investment in health infrastructure is expanding capacity and ensuring people can access the care they need into the future.
"It's a record building hospitals program that will deliver a large number of additional beds to the system."
Comments attributed to Health Minister Meredith Hammat:
"The expansion of our public health system is significant and backed by record funding to both build capacity and bring it online as soon as possible.
"In just a few months' time, Mt Lawley Hospital will officially be a public hospital, providing more beds and theatres to increase access to timely health care, and easing pressure on our tertiary hospitals.
"We're also preparing now for the mammoth task of commissioning the new Women and Babies Hospital, as well as the hundreds of additional beds at hospitals set to come online across Western Australia in the coming months and years."
