Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland with staff from NSW TAFE Moruya outside the construction site of new nursing facilities. Photos: Marion Williams.
Thanks to a NSW Government $2.2 million upgrade, by June 2026 TAFE NSW Moruya’s facilities for teaching nursing will provide modern, fit-for-purpose training environments that better prepare nurse graduates for real-world clinical settings.
It will boost learning opportunities for students and ultimately strengthen the local health workforce and support future healthcare demand across the Eurobodalla region.
The upgrade includes two new simulated nursing training wards, including new beds, tables and other equipment needed to meet the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) standards.
There will be a new mobile nursing station, dirty and clean preparation room, training bathroom and nurses station and lobby.
The students will benefit from upgraded audio-visual equipment to support modern teaching and learning delivery, plus new lunchroom facilities and new male, female and accessible toilets.
The project is part of a statewide ANMAC program to ensure TAFE NSW training facilities meet national accreditation standards, legal compliance requirements and student safety regulations.
The upgrade, along with the adjacent new $330 million Eurobodalla Regional Hospital due to open in 2027, will ensure the region has a skilled, job-ready workforce to support the new hospital and broader local health services.
Dr Michael Holland speaks with NSW TAFE Moruya nursing teaching staff.
Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said the upgrades and investment were what Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland and the Moruya community had been calling for for decades.
“This investment is about delivering skills that work – giving students access to modern, accredited training facilities that reflect the environments they’ll step into when they graduate,” he said.
“Thanks to the advocacy of Dr Holland, the Minns Labor Government is building better services for Moruya,” Mr Whan said.
Dr Holland said the investment delivered purpose-built training spaces, updated equipment and student amenities that would support high-quality nurse training in the Eurobodalla region.
“These upgraded facilities will ensure our local students have the resources they need to gain their qualifications and help meet the growing demand for healthcare workers in the Far South Coast,” Dr Holland said.
Dr Holland announced the upgrade on Tuesday (27 January).
On Wednesday he met Mike Murer, TAFE director strategic asset planning at Moruya TAFE. He said there was a great need for people who had completed a nursing diploma or Certificate III to assist registered nurses.
Dr Michael Holland with NSW TAFE Moruya staff in the old facilities for teaching nursing.
Dr Holland and TAFE staff members spoke about plans to attract the extra staff needed for the new hospital.
The TAFE is also offering secondary school-based training. Four students from Moruya and Batemans Bay will start their training next month, along with four students in the Bega Valley. It is intended to get students interested in a nursing career so they can go straight into a TAFE course.
“The idea is we should grow our own staff here,” Dr Holland said.
He said the Health Department’s partnerships with the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, the University of Wollongong and Charles Sturt University should help attract medical students to do their training at the new Level 4 hospital. Ideally they would stay in the Eurobodalla when they graduated so they could use their skills and training at the highest capacity and level.
The existing nursing facilities at the TAFE were built in 1993 and have been upgraded since. The upgraded facilities will accommodate 16 students.
Dr Holland said healthcare was provided differently from the past, noting the Bega Valley Medicare Urgent Care Clinic that will open this Saturday.
The clinics operate independently of local emergency departments to alleviate pressure on local hospitals and general practices, especially after hours.
He said 23,000 patients had presented to Batemans Bay’s urgent care clinic since it opened in late 2023.
Dr Holland also pointed to the new Hospital in the Home service. Southern NSW Local Health District became the first rural health district in NSW to offer the service in December.
