Long-awaited construction work begins on 'home of policing'

Construction on a new “home of policing” has kicked off, years after the first sod was turned.

A police station is being built on McDermott Drive in Goulburn, to replace the current station on Sloane Street.

The station will be located on the same site as the Goulburn Police Academy and will cost $25 million.

Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the station would replace the current station, which is 115 years old.

“It’s very exciting to think that we’re going to have a new police station [that is] state of the art with all the technology and capabilities that we expect from our police stations in this age,” she said.

Construction has begun on the project, several years after the initial sod turning in October 2021. At the time, the project had an end date of 2023.

NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Rod Smith, APM Infrastructure and Assets Command, said the delay was driven by design concerns.

“We’ve been very, very careful in making sure that the design and the services and the access to the road and everything else are best-fit [and] for-purpose for the police when they occupy this site,” he said.

Once built, the station will include a command office, a general duties area, a charge area, spaces for police interviews and testing, storage facilities, changerooms and a dock.

Carparks will also be added to the site.

NSW Police is in contact with Property Development NSW and Crown Lands regarding the future of the existing station.

“As of now, it’s still an operational police station,” Mr Smith said.

Acting Superintendent Brendan Bernie from the Hume Police District said the new station would bring “improved collaboration” between officers.

It will house general duties and specialist officers, including the district’s detectives, youth officers, a crime prevention team and traffic and highway patrol officers.

Work has also started on a new indoor firing range, part of a $74 million upgrade to the Goulburn Police Academy, set to offer new technology and training facilities.

Chief Superintendent John Klepczarek said the upgrade would ensure recruits continued to receive world-class training.

“This just shows this academy is the best in Australia,” he said.

“The investment that’s been put in here the past couple of years has only enhanced the reputation, I believe not only in Australia but worldwide.”

The new firing range will exist alongside the current one, which was built in the mid-1980s.

It will have 12 25-metre lanes with a retractable system, a control room, observation room, a weapons training area and a gun cleaning room.

“This is the home of policing, and it’s here for the state to use,” he said.

“More facilities [means] the better the outcome.”

The new station and the firing range are expected to open in the second half of 2026.