What is planned, and where

The two stations were unveiled the same day, 3 September 2026, in two ministerial releases (Warilla, Unanderra) from the Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park, who is also the Member for Keira. Each release carries an artist's impression of the station's facade. Health Infrastructure repeated both, with stations at Carlingford and Glendenning, in a 24 September roundup. The detail is on the two project pages, both last updated on 4 September 2026.

The two stations, as their project pages describe them

Health Infrastructure project pages, last updated 4 September 2026, read 7 October 2026.

Warilla

Where
Lake Entrance Road, near the Warilla Community Health Centre, with direct access to Lake Entrance Road for emergency ambulances
Holds
10 internal ambulance bays, vehicle wash, multipurpose space for staff education, logistics and storage, offices, staff amenities
Status
Planning
Next
The planning application to be placed on public exhibition.

Unanderra

Where
17 Waverley Drive (the map note says 17-19 Waverley Drive)
Holds
10 internal ambulance bays, vehicle wash, multipurpose space for staff education, logistics and storage, offices, staff amenities
Status
Planning
Next
Planning approval and construction tender processes.
Both pages give the same scope sentence. Neither gives a cost for the individual station; the figure on both is the $615.5 million for the whole program.

Both releases say NSW Ambulance chose the suburb as a high priority location (Unanderra's says high-priority) after a service planning process that analysed Triple Zero (000) demand and ambulance response requirements across the Illawarra region. Both stations are part of the $615.5 million NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program, which the releases say will deliver 30 new ambulance stations across Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, the Hunter and the Illawarra. The program page lists Warilla and Unanderra among 18 announced sites, and the project pages date the funding commitment to June 2022.

Twice Fairy Meadow's bays

Both releases set the new pair beside the recently completed Fairy Meadow Ambulance Station, on the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus, built under a different program: the $232 million Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration, which covers 54 new or upgraded stations. Its opening release says it features 5 internal parking bays. Warilla and Unanderra are each planned with ten.

Internal ambulance bays, one square each

Filled squares: built. Open squares: planned. Sources: Health Infrastructure, Fairy Meadow opening release, 8 January 2025 (5 internal parking bays); Warilla and Unanderra project pages (10 internal parking bays for emergency ambulance vehicles). Bays are parking spaces inside the station, not a count of ambulances or crews.

Bays are not crews. When Fairy Meadow's construction was finished, the November 2024 release said an additional 25 paramedics had been recruited for it and were already on the road, temporarily operating from other nearby stations. Neither new project page nor either release says how many paramedics Warilla or Unanderra will have. The releases refer to the government's plan to recruit an additional 500 paramedics in rural and regional areas, which is statewide.

How long it takes

Warilla and Unanderra have been on the record for some time. Health Infrastructure's July 2023 release on Fairy Meadow's first sod already referred to new stations to be built at Warilla and Unanderra in coming years. Fairy Meadow itself is the local yardstick: from its announcement in May 2021 to construction starting took just over two years, and from construction under way to construction complete took about 16 months.

Fairy Meadow's path, and where Warilla and Unanderra are on theirs

  1. 21 May 2021Fairy Meadow station announced; its location still to be determined.
  2. June 2022$615.5 million committed for 30 new stations, the program that now includes Warilla and Unanderra.
  3. 12 July 2023Fairy Meadow construction under way, first sod turned. The release names Warilla and Unanderra as stations to be built in coming years.
  4. October 2024Warilla and Unanderra sites confirmed and planning under way, per both project timelines.
  5. 15 November 2024Fairy Meadow construction complete; keys handed to paramedics.
  6. 8 January 2025Fairy Meadow officially opened.
  7. 3 September 2026Warilla and Unanderra designs released as artist's impressions.
  8. No date givenWarilla: planning application on public exhibition. Unanderra: planning approval and construction tender. Then construction.
Fairy Meadow in sandstone, Warilla and Unanderra in green, the undated next step greyed. Dates are those of the releases and project-page timelines listed under Sources; the Fairy Meadow dates are when each release was published.

That is a yardstick, not a forecast. Fairy Meadow is a smaller station built under a different program, and nothing in the documents says the new pair will move at the same pace. What the documents do say is where they are: neither has reached a planning application. As at 7 October 2026, neither project page lists a planning application, a builder or a construction date.

What comes next

Construction and operational timeframes will be determined as the project progresses.
Health Infrastructure, Warilla and Unanderra Ambulance Station project pages, the same sentence on both, read 7 October 2026.

For residents the useful date is the Warilla planning application, which the project page says will be placed on public exhibition. That is the point at which the design, the access from Lake Entrance Road and the effect on neighbours can be commented on. The Unanderra page names planning approval and the construction tender as its next steps. When either planning application appears, we will report it. Both pages give the project team's contact as 02 9978 5933 and hi-ambulanceinfrastructure@health.nsw.gov.au.

Our read

This is opinion, built on the documents above. Doubling Fairy Meadow's bay count is a real commitment of space, and choosing the suburbs from Triple Zero demand is the right method. But the program was funded in June 2022, the suburbs were named publicly by July 2023, and in September 2026 what has arrived is a picture of a facade. Two more things would make this measurable. The service planning that picked Warilla and Unanderra is described in both releases and published in neither; the government could publish what response times in those areas are now, so residents can judge the stations once they open. And a staffing number for each station, as Fairy Meadow's 25 paramedics were given, would say more about emergency cover than any count of bays.

How we sourced this

We read the two ministerial releases of 3 September 2026, Health Infrastructure's 24 September roundup, both project pages, the program page and the Fairy Meadow project page, and Health Infrastructure's and the minister's Fairy Meadow releases from 2021 to 2025, all on nsw.gov.au. Fairy Meadow's intervals are counted between release dates: 21 May 2021 to 12 July 2023 is two years and seven weeks; 12 July 2023 to 15 November 2024 is 16 months and three days. One difference in the documents: the Unanderra project page dates the site's confirmation to October 2024, while the 3 September 2026 release refers to the announcement of the site late last year. We use the project page's date and note the difference here. We tried to add current ambulance response times for the area from the Bureau of Health Information; its site returned a bot-verification page to our automated check on 7 October, so they are not included. We have not contacted Health Infrastructure or NSW Ambulance. The section headed Our read is opinion.

Sources

  1. NSW Government, First look at new Warilla Ambulance Station, ministerial release, Minister for Regional Health, 3 September 2026, read 7 October 2026: the design release, the location near the Warilla Community Health Centre with direct access to Lake Entrance Road, the high priority finding, the 500-paramedic plan.
  2. NSW Government, Design unveiled for new Unanderra ambulance station, ministerial release, Minister for Regional Health, 3 September 2026, read 7 October 2026: the design release, Waverley Drive, the high-priority finding, the site announcement wording.
  3. Health Infrastructure, Communities given first look at four new ambulance stations, 24 September 2026, read 7 October 2026: the four stations and the program.
  4. Health Infrastructure, Warilla Ambulance Station project page, last updated 4 September 2026, read 7 October 2026: location, scope, status, timeline, next step, timeframes sentence, contact.
  5. Health Infrastructure, Unanderra Ambulance Station project page, last updated 4 September 2026, read 7 October 2026: address, scope, status, timeline, next steps, timeframes sentence.
  6. Health Infrastructure, NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program, last updated 19 November 2025, read 7 October 2026: the $615.5 million commitment and the list of announced sites.
  7. Health Infrastructure, Fairy Meadow Ambulance Station project page, read 7 October 2026: status Completed, the $232 million RAIR program and its 54 stations.
  8. Health Infrastructure, New ambulance station for Fairy Meadow, 21 May 2021, read 7 October 2026: the announcement, location to be determined.
  9. Health Infrastructure, Fairy Meadow ambulance station construction begins, 12 July 2023, read 7 October 2026: construction under way, and Warilla and Unanderra named as stations to be built.
  10. NSW Government, Construction completed on Fairy Meadow's new ambulance station, media release, Minister for Health, 15 November 2024, read 7 October 2026: construction complete, the 25 additional paramedics.
  11. Health Infrastructure, Modern ambulance facility opens in Fairy Meadow, 8 January 2025, read 7 October 2026: the official opening and the 5 internal parking bays.

Spotted an error, or read these documents differently? Tell us and we will check it against the documents and log the outcome here.