The new Fairy Meadow ambulance station at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus. Photo: Ryan Park.
The sites for two new ambulance stations in the Illawarra have been confirmed.
Part of the NSW Government’s $61.5 million ambulance infrastructure program, the stations will be purpose-built and support booming populations.
The new Unanderra ambulance station will be at 17-19 Waverley Drive, Unanderra, and the new Warilla Station will be near the Warilla Community Health Centre with direct access for emergency ambulances to Lake Entrance Road.
NSW Ambulance identified the areas as high priority locations for the new stations after a service planning process using modelling software to map triple zero (000) calls.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the stations were key to long-term health planning for the region.
“The new ambulance stations at Warilla and Unanderra will support local paramedics to provide the best emergency and mobile medical care well into the future,” he said.
“The confirmation of the station locations marks a significant milestone in delivering a vital health service for Warilla, Unanderra and surrounding suburbs.
“More ambulance stations, more paramedics, faster response times and better patient outcomes – it’s as simple as that.”
The region currently has ambulance stations at Warrawong, Oak Flats, Kiama, Wollongong, Dapto and the recently opened Fairy Meadow station.
According to the latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report for April to June 2025, the median ambulance response time for the highest priority Category 1 incidents for Wollongong and Kiama-Shellharbour were within the 10-minute state benchmark at eight minutes.
It’s an improvement on the same quarter three years ago, when ambulance response times for the region were nine minutes.
There has also been a 50 per cent increase in the number of urgent emergency patients being treated on time in the Illawarra Shoalhaven compared to three years ago.
Health Services Union spokesperson Gerard Hayes said the boost was essential for paramedics as well as the wider community.
“Regional communities rely heavily on the hardworking paramedics who serve them,” he said.
“Those communities, and their workers, deserve these world-class stations.
“We welcome this kind of investment from the Minns Labor Government which will improve the critical service paramedics provide, while also ensuring those hard workers have safe and cutting-edge workplaces.
“Paramedics are essential to the health of communities, and this kind of infrastructure will help us retain and attract more of them where they are most needed.”
The next steps for the stations include design development and seeking planning approval.
Construction and operational timeframes will be determined as the projects progress.
