$217m Brisbane Airport medi-hub cleared for takeoff
Madura McCormack
The Royal Flying Doctor Service will be one of the services based at the new hub.
A planned state-of-the-art aeromedical base at Brisbane Airport has been significantly expanded, with the state government to shell out millions to build it and keep it running for two decades.
The $217m super base will be located between Brisbane Airport’s two runways at the northern end of the precinct, and will be home to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, LifeFlight, Retrieval Services Queensland, and the Queensland Police fleet.
The joint, purpose-built hub will feature state-of-the-art hangars for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, administration areas, and a medical base for regional patient and donor transfers. There will also be patient transfer facilities on site to safely care for people transitioning between aircraft and road ambulances.
Brisbane Airport had originally pitched a smaller $72m centre, but the project has since grown by 4000sq m, or half an NRL field, for a total footprint of 18,700sq m and is set to house more services than originally planned.
The aeromedical base will allow emergency response teams to kick into gear within minutes – a change that could be the difference between life and death for critically ill Queenslanders needing help in far-flung corners of the state.
The RFDS alone transfers about 13,000 patients in Queensland by air each year, many of those via their Brisbane base.
The state government has also set aside $209m to cover running costs of the facility until 2047, bringing the project’s total price tag to $426m.
Premier Steven Miles will turn the sod on the new facility on Tuesday. Building contractor Adco was awarded the construction tender in May 2024.
Brisbane Airport chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaf said the precinct would set a “new standard in care”.
“By bringing all our partners together in a state-of-the-art precinct, with a patient transfer hub at its core, Queensland is setting a new standard in care,” he said. “This will also be the largest multi-tenanted property built by Brisbane Airport, and we’re delighted its sole purpose is to serve the people of Queensland, in every corner of the state.”
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