The Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT has completed construction of a first-of-its-kind Port Augusta Centre for Rural Health and Education, bringing it a step closer to increasing primary health care access and growing the health workforce across Far North SA.
The $21 million project – funded by the RFDS donor community, South Australian Government and RFDS major sponsor BHP – will bring clinical care, education and training together under one roof, supporting the local Port Augusta community and outback RFDS patients when they visit for care.
Set to open to the local community from mid-2027, the centre will provide: a bulk-billed GP and nurse-led primary health service; an education and training base offering placements for junior doctors, medical, nursing and allied health students in partnership with education providers; and fit-for-purpose facilities for School of the Air.
RFDS SA/NT Chair Peter de Cure AM said the project has been years in the making.
"This project is part of our broader commitment to improving access to health care for people living outside major cities, while shoring up the pipeline of health professionals wanting to live and work in the bush," he said.
"For patients who travel to Port Augusta for care, it will provide another place to access health services and support continuity of care."
The new centre will complement the RFDS’s existing Port Augusta airport base, from which the RFDS currently operates 24-hour emergency retrievals and inter-hospital transfer flights, 24-hour urgent telehealth consultations and outreach fly-in primary health care clinics for people in isolated communities.
Supporting a fully integrated approach to care, the centre will enable multi-disciplinary primary health professionals to work together and, with consent, share relevant patient information to enhance care across RFDS services.
Also designed to attract and retain the next generation of rural health professionals, the centre will provide a hub for nursing and medical undergraduates with the opportunity to learn and work alongside experienced practitioners in a real-world healthcare setting.
SA Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven MLC said the Malinauskas Government welcomes this important milestone in the delivery of a new rural health and training hub at Port Augusta.
"The new centre will bring more health services, training opportunities and research closer to our Far North communities, as well as Port Augusta and surrounds," Minister Scriven said.
"It’s about making regional South Australia an even better place to live, work and raise a family, while helping attract and retain the health workforce our regions rely on."
BHP Asset President Anna Wiley said the RFDS is at the heart of rural South Australia, ensuring essential, high-quality and often life-saving health care is available to those living and working in the regions.
"As one of South Australia’s largest regional employers, with operations reaching 800 kilometres north of Adelaide, we deeply value the service RFDS provides to BHP’s workforce, their families and the communities we call home," she said.
"In addition to renewing our longstanding partnership with the RFDS, we are proud to be a foundation partner in the new RFDS Centre for Rural Health and Education in Port Augusta, which will expand access to GP and other medical services across the Upper Spencer Gulf."
School of the Air (SOTA) is the first partner located at the centre, with fit-for-purpose facilities to enhance learning for Reception to Year 6 students living in outback communities across South Australia.
The two organisations have a long history, with Open Access College's SOTA delivering its first lessons to outback students in 1951, using the Flying Doctor's two-way radio network.
School of the Air Head of Campus Paul Pitkin said the new partnership with the RFDS Cetnre for Rural Health and Education is set to deliver even greater outcomes for students, staff and families.
"The future is bright for remote education in South Australia with cutting-edge facilities that honour our history while looking to new frontiers," Mr Pitkin said.
"As we embark on this new chapter, we reflect with pride and gratitude on 30 years of successful partnership with Augusta Park Primary School in delivering remote education to generations of bush families."
The RFDS Centre for Rural Health and Education received $1 million seed funding from both BHP Copper SA and the SA Government’s Enabling Infrastructure Program, with the balance of the project financed by RFDS fundraising and donations from the community.
