New Worker Housing Draws Health Staff to NSW Regions
New key health worker accommodation units are already attracting more frontline healthcare staff to the Murrumbidgee region.
Three new units at West Wyalong are being used by staff and students undertaking placement as part of their health-related studies, as well as night shift staff who live out of town and require accommodation for overnight stays.
Irish nurse Aeisha Farrow moved from Sydney to West Wyalong in the Murrumbidgee area earlier this year to work at the local hospital and is living in one of the new on-site self-contained units, delivered as part of the NSW Government’s $73.2 million Key Worker Accommodation (KWA) Program.
The availability of health worker accommodation was one of the reasons she chose to work in the regional health facility.
With limited public transport and increasing demand for short-term housing options, the short walk to work from the modern, on-site units means no commute, providing a significant attraction for health staff. Further benefits and considerations for the accommodation design include one unit being wheelchair accessible, and two units being pet friendly.
Six units in Finley and three units in Narrandera have also welcomed their first tenants.
New units in Leeton are also now complete, which is the final key worker site for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District to be delivered under the $72.3 million KWA Program.
The three units, one of which is wheelchair accessible, are fit-for-purpose and will provide a comfortable and safe place for temporary or newly relocated staff to stay while working at Leeton.
All units delivered under the KWA Program are fully furnished and self-contained and feature a light-filled living and dining area, modern kitchen, bedroom with ensuite, an internal laundry and a screened veranda.
The Minns Labor Government committed an additional $200.1 million to increase key health worker accommodation across rural and regional areas of the state as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget.
As part of this MLHD will benefit from a $23 million investment to deliver housing for healthcare workers in Griffith, Deniliquin and Lake Cargelligo.
For more information about the program visit: hinfra.health.nsw.gov.au/projects/project-search/key-worker-accommodation
Quotes attributable to Regional Health Minister, Ryan Park:
“It’s exciting to see the last of the Murrumbidgee sites under the $72.3 million Key Worker Accommodation Program now completed and our valued health care workers living in modern accommodation units across the area.
“The success of this program has led to the additional commitment from the Minns Labor Government of a further $200.1 million to increase key health worker accommodation in the state.
“This investment into improving the recruitment and retention of health care workers in our rural and regional communities underpins our focus on strengthening and supporting our highly skilled health workforce to ensure communities across NSW have access to high quality healthcare close to home.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Murray, Helen Dalton:
“We can’t offer proper patient care if we don’t also care for health workers.
“This new health worker accommodation is incredibly important in attracting health workers to rural NSW and encouraging them to stay.
“The staff and students who use these facilities get a chance to see what life is like working in rural health, and many of them go on to choose to base their lives in rural communities.
“The more welcoming we are, the better staffed our health facilities can be.”
Quotes attributable to Aeisha Farrow, Registered Nurse, West Wyalong Health Service:
“I am really impressed with the quality of the units, which are light and bright and very well equipped with everything I need to be comfortable.
“I’m aware that it can be very challenging to find short-term accommodation in country areas so having somewhere I could move straight away into was definitely a drawcard.
“My unit feels homely, the bed is very comfortable, and I love sitting on the veranda which has a lovely aspect.
“I would definitely encourage other health professionals to go for it when thinking about living and working in a rural or regional town.”
Quotes attributable to Kylie Holland, West Wyalong Health Service Facility Manager:
“The units have exceeded our expectations, being very modern and spacious, and the safety aspect of having accommodation on site is important.
“Health staff who come out to West Wyalong to work often don’t have a vehicle and there isn’t a lot of public transportation available, so being so close to work is an advantage.
“Being able to provide accommodation to students on-site is also great as West Wyalong is one of the Murrumbidgee LHD’s main sites for student placements, which in turn helps us to have a better opportunity to recruit them once they have finished their studies and increase our workforce.”
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20250307_03.aspx