The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government has unveiled plans to set up a new health centre in Conder, South Tuggeranong.

Construction on the facility, which will be the first of the four planned community health centres across Canberra, is scheduled to start in H1 2024.

These centres will provide health services tailored to community needs, with an emphasis on preventive care, early intervention, and the management of chronic illnesses.

The South Tuggeranong health centre will be situated near arterial roads, public transport routes, and other existing health centres. Its location was determined after a feasibility study last year.

The design of the facility is expected to be flexible to adapt to changing community needs and incorporates input from clinicians, consumers, and the local community.

The government allocated A$16.6m ($10.73m) over four years in the 2023-2024 budget for the design and construction of the South Tuggeranong health centre, as well as early planning for centres in the Inner South and North Gungahlin.

Additional opportunities for community input will be provided for the health facilities in Inner South and North Gungahlin.

ACT health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said: “We want to build on the success of our free and public community health services, such as child and family, mental health, walk-in centre, and aged care services, by delivering more community-based health centres.

“This will allow Canberrans to access care closer to home and reduce the need to go to hospital for treatment and appointments.

“We are seeing increased incidence of chronic illness, complex health conditions and an ageing population.

“That is why, in growing our community health services, we are establishing these new health centres that will provide the opportunity to bring together multidisciplinary and interprofessional services to support the care our community needs.”