Cairns Hospital has been caring for Far North Queenslanders since 1878.
More than a century later, it has become the beating heart of healthcare in the Far North and one of the busiest hospitals in regional Australia. It also has some of the best views in Queensland for patients staying there.
But for decades, our hospital staff’s pleas fell on deaf ears. There were promises of a new hospital, a new helipad, a new car park and better facilities. Yet nothing was delivered.
In fact, an independent review of the former government’s Capacity Expansion Program found that not a single new or expanded hospital project was expected to be delivered within its original funding envelope or delivery timeframe. That included Cairns Hospital.
This is a hospital that serves almost 300,000 people.
On average, every week:
- 132 patients receive elective surgery;
- 44 babies are born;
- 1,601 people present to the Emergency Department; and
- 1,757 people are admitted to hospital.
Yet under the former Labor Government, Cairns Hospital was operating under enormous pressure, with inadequate parking, an unsafe helipad located near a popular walking track, and outdated facilities.
It was a hospital without adequate services to treat many trauma patients, forcing too many people to travel to Townsville for specialist treatment.
This bill, together with the Crisafulli Government’s Hospital Rescue Plan, is changing that.
This bill addresses several shortcomings left by the former government and provides Queensland Health with the tools it needs to plan and deliver critical health infrastructure.
The Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 makes a range of important amendments across Queensland’s health legislation, including
- hospital governance,
- mental health laws,
- public health measures,
- tobacco enforcement,
- and community pharmacy regulation.
Most importantly for growing communities like Cairns, it supports the Hospital Rescue Plan by enabling Queensland Health to acquire land more efficiently for future health infrastructure projects.
That might sound like a technical change, but it is a practical reform that removes unnecessary barriers to delivering hospitals, health services and infrastructure where they are needed most.
And we are already seeing the benefits of a government focused on delivery.
Just last week, we opened a new 32-bed ward.
Construction is moving hard and fast thanks to the incredible team at Hutchinson Builders, and I particularly welcome the addition of four new trauma beds. This means people injured in serious accidents, whether on our roads, farms or workplaces, can receive treatment closer to home.
We will also deliver another 32 overnight beds by 2027.
The new $1 billion Cairns Hospital master plan includes:
- a 40-bed Innovation and Surgical Centre;
- a new helipad in a safer location;
- a multi-storey car park; and
- a new administration building,
all to be delivered by 2031.
Construction continues and, unlike the former government’s approach, our Hospital Rescue Plan has been designed for Cairns and with Cairns clinicians.
I recently spoke with one of the hospital’s senior staff, who explained just how different this process has been compared with their experience under the former Labor Government.
This new plan provides cohesion.
It has been designed by clinicians, directors and board members who work in the hospital every day.
It delivers a streamlined approach, improved patient flow, greater capacity to treat complex patients and facilities that healthcare workers have been requesting for years.
A health management hub.
World-class training facilities.
A toxicology centre.
A dedicated staff car park that will also free up spaces for patients and visitors.
And a more connected campus, with link bridges joining key clinical services and allowing staff to move patients more efficiently throughout the hospital.
Most importantly, it gives clinicians the tools they need to provide better care.
Our Government listened.
We listened to clinicians, directors, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals.
This is a hospital for Cairns, designed by the people who work in Cairns and shaped by their expertise.
Compared to the former plan, it is like chalk and cheese.
Labor’s failed Capacity Expansion Program left the Cairns Hospital project with a $378 million cost blowout, increasing from $250 million to $628 million.
There was no funded plan for a surgical centre, no funded plan for a multi-storey car park and no clear pathway to deliver the infrastructure Cairns needs.
Last week, the Member for Cairns posted a video claiming it was his government that set the Cairns Hospital expansion in motion.
Labor’s mismanagement of the Capacity Expansion Program resulted in major delays, billions in cost blowouts and significant design flaws across major hospital projects. The staff were so concerned about the layout of the hospital, it was inefficient, ineffective and didn’t meet the needs of our growing region.
On top of that, Labor’s CFMEU-driven industrial settings contributed to rising costs. Independent analysis found Queensland construction productivity lagged other jurisdictions, resulting in longer delivery timeframes and higher project costs.
To deliver major infrastructure, you need more than announcements. You need a workable plan.
Under the former government, layers of bureaucracy and red tape slowed projects to a standstill.
This bill directly addresses that problem.
The amendments give Queensland Health the power to acquire land directly for health infrastructure purposes, including through compulsory acquisition when necessary.
That means when projects identified in hospital master plans, such as the Cairns Hospital expansion, require additional land, Queensland Health can act more efficiently and avoid unnecessary delays.
This is already the case with the Red Cross Association located across from the Cairns Hospital.
The groundwork is already being laid in Cairns, and I am confident Queensland Health will deliver the outcome our community expects and deserves.
The proof is not just in the sod turns. It is in the results.
- A record number of doctors and nurses are entering the health system, with more than 10,000 additional health workers already added.
- Six cardiologists have been welcomed to Far North Queensland, including an additional paediatric cardiologist.
- More than 900 people have come off local waiting lists.
- Ambulance ramping performance has improved and is leading our peer group.
- The Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme has received an $11.7 million uplift, increasing assistance from 34 cents per kilometre to 45 cents per kilometre.
- Surgery Connect is funded at $1.8 billion over four years, including $247 million in 2026-27 to deliver an additional 25,000 surgeries.
The Crisafulli Government is repairing a health system that suffered from years of neglect, and we are doing it through both infrastructure and reform.
This bill is about more than hospital buildings.
It also strengthens Queensland’s health system by addressing regulatory gaps and modernising legislation.
One important example is the Pharmacy Business Ownership Act.
Current laws prevent community pharmacies from being directly affiliated with supermarkets in the physical environment. This bill ensures those same protections apply online.
That matters because medicines are not ordinary retail products.
There must be a clear distinction between essential medicines and general consumer goods.
Patients deserve professional advice, oversight and support from qualified pharmacists.
Far North Queensland is home to many family-owned pharmacies that provide essential healthcare services to regional and rural communities.
People like Trent & Georgina Twomey, Matthew and the Calanna family have played a significant role in supporting healthcare throughout our region.
Matthew and the Calanna family recently celebrated 50 years in business.
This legislation helps protect those local businesses and the communities that rely on them.
Its aim is simple: to ensure pharmacies remain focused on patient care, not controlled by external commercial interests.
For many rural and remote communities, the local pharmacy is often the most accessible health service available.
This bill helps protect that model.
This bill is about delivering a stronger, more practical and more responsive healthcare system for Queensland.
It removes barriers to critical health infrastructure, strengthens mental health and public health laws, protects community pharmacies and supports the Hospital Rescue Plan that communities like Cairns desperately need.
