Jess Davidson and the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre is calling for vital funding for services in the northern suburbs. Photo: Zoe Cartwright.
Year-long waitlists, inaccessible services and a domestic violence crisis across the Illawarra has prompted calls for a permanent women’s health centre to be established in the region’s northern suburbs to help deliver vital support to those who need it.
The Illawarra Women’s Health Centre has been providing that for women in the region for almost four decades, but as the need continues to surge, the Warilla site is no longer enough to meet growing demand.
“We are at capacity and unfortunately we’ve had to put waitlists on for our casework, for our counsellor and for our nurse practitioner,” Illawarra Women’s Health Centre general manager Jess Davidson said.
“Even if we’re at capacity we will make it work if there’s an immediate need but in terms of really working with women to build those good long-term outcomes, which we know happens through long-term casework and counselling, we are looking at up to 12 months for women to be able to access support.
“It isn’t good enough, women should be able to access support when they need it.”
The centre’s location also restricts the people who are able to attend, with those based in the northern suburbs often struggling to access services even if they are available. And although they established a self-funded outreach site from North Wollongong in 2024, a more permanent solution is needed.
“We also know that for women particularly who are in the northern suburbs, getting to Warilla is difficult, particularly if you’re relying on public transport. It creates a barrier and it’s not easily accessible for them,” Jess said.
“At the moment our staff are working across both sites so we would like to have a dedicated staff team there to make that sustainable long term.”
The centre self-funded a second site but not all services are available and staff work across both locations. Photo: Ali Anderson.
They’re calling for a permanent centre to be funded in northern Illawarra, which would not only support the immediate need but the expected influx moving forward.
“We would be looking for the operational costs, which would be one million dollars a year, but we also know that for every dollar we invest in primary prevention with women’s health that we get $468 in community value,” Jess said. “We get improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare cost and increased workforce participation.
“When we invest in women’s health we see measurable reductions in violence against women, in STI rates and in mental illness.”
As the population grows so will demand, but services like the women-only, stand-alone, trauma-informed mental health facility at Thirroul, the Ramsay Clinic, are shutting their doors and options are becoming further limited.
“That’s only going to put more pressure on the existing services that are there, so it’s really important that we are investing in services to support women particularly in those northern suburbs,” Jess said.
With the existing women’s health centre having proven its worth in providing a safe space, she said the region couldn’t afford to delay.
“The Illawarra at the moment is in a domestic violence crisis – rates of domestic and family violence have increased 12 per cent over the past two years,” Jess said.
“So it’s really important that we’re investing in services and support and in a model that we know works. We’re not asking for investment in something that’s untested. Women’s health is a solution that’s proven to work and proven to be value for money.”
The centre is calling for the government to step in and provide funding to continue and expand services, but they need the community to rally behind them so decision-makers understand how vital the service is for the community.
“Write a letter to (Health Minister) Ryan Park, advocating for the need to invest in a service for women and establish a permanent site, also continue to advocate with the local MPs in their area and continue to support the work of the centre.”
To stay up to date with the advocacy campaign or access services visit the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre website.
