Heath Minister Ryan Park was joined by Member for Wollongong Paul Scully to turn the first sod at the site today, marking a significant milestone in delivering Fairy Meadow’s first ambulance station, which will be co-located at the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus.

“It’s an exciting day for the community as construction gets underway on Fairy Meadow’s first purpose-built ambulance station, which will provide a high-quality base for our local paramedics, tailored to the emergency care needs of the region,” Mr Park said.

“The NSW Government is committed to investing in rural and regional health infrastructure as our local paramedics need and deserve the best possible workplace for emergency medical care, and this new ambulance station will make a real difference to their working environment.”

The station will feature internal parking for up to five emergency ambulance vehicles and a wash bay, administration and office areas, staff rest facilities, logistics and storage spaces.

The new Fairy Meadow ambulance station is part of the NSW Government’s $232 million investment in the Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration program.

Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, said the Fairy Meadow station will bolster emergency care in the Illawarra, supporting the existing stations in Wollongong, Bulli and Dapto as well as new stations to be built in Warilla and Unanderra in coming years.

“I am really pleased that the community of Fairy Meadow will have their own ambulance station, with dedicated paramedics who can respond to the needs of the growing local community,” Mr Scully said.

“The Fairy Meadow Ambulance Station will significantly enhance emergency care for the people in this community.”

NSW Ambulance has used best practice modelling methodology to map Triple Zero (000) calls and to determine the location for the new station to effectively manage demand for our services in the Illawarra region.

University of Wollongong (UOW) Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson welcomed the decision to base the new ambulance station on the UOW's Innovation Campus.

"Innovation Campus is a place where research, business and community work in partnership to bring new ideas, new investment and new solutions to our region. Co-locating this ambulance station here is another way of achieving that; particularly supporting better health outcomes for our region," Prof Davidson said.

The new Fairy Meadow Ambulance Station will be fitted with a solar energy system, which enables battery storage and an emergency power source for essential building services such as lighting and roller doors.

The new Fairy Meadow Ambulance Station is expected to be completed in early 2024, with construction company HPAC Pty Ltd appointed to deliver the project.

The NSW Government is recruiting thousands of new staff including paramedics, nurses, doctors and support staff to improve response times and meet current and future demand.

The NSW Government’s $1 billion investment in NSW Ambulance infrastructure includes:

• Sydney Ambulance Metropolitan Infrastructure Strategy ($184 million)
• NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program ($615.5 million)
• RAIR program Stage 1 & 2 ($232 million)