NSW announces “in-principle agreement” on Northern Beaches Hospital

The NSW Government has announced that in-principle agreement has been reached with Healthscope’s receivers on a $190 million payment for the transition of Northern Beaches Hospital to public ownership.

The transition will see the hospital move to the direct control of the Northern Sydney Local Health District by mid-2026, with the announcement following months of negotiations between the NSW Government, Healthscope and its receivers.

“Our state’s acute hospital services that provide lifesaving care to the people of New South Wales should not be privatised and thanks to this decision, no hospital in NSW will be,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said.

The entire 494-bed hospital will return to public ownership under the agreement. Also under the agreement, all clinical and support staff currently working at Northern Beaches Hospital will be offered jobs by NSW Health at the facility, and staff entitlements will transfer across from Healthscope to NSW Health.

The NSW Government said it will now finalise the legal and commercial arrangements required for transfer, including workforce transition, and will consult closely with clinicians to determine future clinical services and an operating model, including the role of private services in the hospital footprint.

“We have done in a matter of months what would have otherwise taken years — undoing one of the most complex privatisation arrangements in the state’s history,” NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said.

“We have worked with an urgency and speed to provide certainty for the community, patients and staff. We thank the staff for their hard work and cooperation as we continue to work through the transition.

“This agreement does not mark the end — but the beginning — of the transition of a major hospital into the public health system.

“I want to be upfront that this will not be without its challenges, but patient safety sits at the very heart of this handback to public ownership.

“Let me be clear, clinical and support staff will have the opportunity to continue to work at Northern Beaches Hospital and will be offered employment with NSW Health.”

In its statement, the government said that Elouise and Danny Massa, the parents of two-year-old Joe Massa who died at the hospital late last year, “have been tireless advocates for the facility being brought into public hands”.

The government credited their efforts as leading to the passing this year of Joe’s Law, a legal commitment by the NSW Government to prevent any future attempts to create public–private partnerships at acute care hospitals.

“Because of Elouise and Danny’s courage and persistence, Joe’s Law now ensures that no future government can repeat the mistakes that led to the Northern Beaches Hospital privatisation,” Minns said. “Their advocacy will leave a lasting legacy for every patient and every family who relies on our public health system.”

In its statement, the NSW Government said: “Northern Beaches Hospital was one of six hospital privatisations attempted by the former Coalition. The five others — Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral — did not go ahead.”

The NSW Government also said that it still retains the option to use its statutory powers to terminate the Public Private Partnership unilaterally if Healthscope fails to conclude the deal on fair and reasonable terms.

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