Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
New and improved facilities will allow community organisations to offer a welcoming, secure and inclusive environment.
In brief:
- Plans to upgrade the Watson Health Precinct are moving ahead.
- There will be new and improved facilities offering vital rehabilitation services.
- A new drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be built.
The Watson Health Precinct upgrades are moving ahead.
Plans have been conditionally approved and a Head Contractor appointed.
Important upgrades
Community health organisations have provided vital rehabilitation services from the precinct for almost 20 years.
New facilities will replace the site’s ageing infrastructure. This will help these organisations ensure a welcoming, secure and inclusive environment for people as they recover.
It will also allow them to double their capacity in the future.
The ACT Government will build new facilities in the precinct for:
- the Ted Noffs Foundation – who offer live-in alcohol and other drug rehabilitation services for young people
- Marymead CatholicCare – who provide a residential care facility for young people with mental health conditions.
“Seeking support for drug and alcohol treatment is a massive step for any young person to undertake. Having a space that is designed and created to allow for young people to feel safe, comfortable and promotes treatment removes one barrier to young people accessing support. We welcome the ACT Government’s commitment to improve the treatment options for young people in the ACT,” the Ted Noffs Foundation said.
“Young people struggling with mental health concerns deserve and will appreciate the new welcoming and fresh interiors, inspiring the sense of new beginnings and motivation to work towards their identified mental health recovery goals,” Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn said.
A new facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
The precinct will also expand. A new alcohol and other drugs rehabilitation facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be built.
It will be a residential facility with 24 beds.
Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (Winnunga) will run the service.
Winnunga has led the facility’s design and will be responsible for its construction and operation.
This partnership will help ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive culturally appropriate care for the best possible recovery.
Monarch Building Solutions has been engaged as the Head Contractor for the work on the existing services.
They will work with Winnunga and their Head Contractor as they build their new facility.
Construction is expected to be completed in early 2026.
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