Missing operating theatres and wards with no ceilings: How NSW’s hospital builds stay under budget
Patient wards, theatres and helipads disappear when budgets for new hospitals are set before planning starts.
The NSW government has allocated $11.9 billion to health capital expenditure between 2026-27 and 2029-30, but the audit found recurrent funding for staffing and running hospital expansions was rarely addressed until roughly 12 months before opening, risking hospitals operating at diminished capacity from day one.
In 2025-26, the cost of bridging the operational funding gap for newly opened facilities was $90.5 million, the report, published on Thursday, found.
At Bathurst Hospital, more than 15 per cent of the originally planned scope was removed to keep within its $200 million budget, including a day surgery inpatient unit and pharmacy, and an inpatient mental health unit was salvaged via an emergency draw on contingency reserves.
At Manning Hospital in Taree, an entire 1600-square-metre fourth floor was built as an empty shell. The 28-bed inpatient ward has been shelved until future funding can be secured.
NSW Health does not monitor the number of unfinished shells that exist across the state, according to the report.
