The Federal Government has announced $10 million for maternity services at Royal Darwin Hospital following the closure of Darwin Private Hospital’s maternity services in June last year, but the spending does not increase the number of birth suits or maternity rooms.

Member for Solomon Luke Gosling said the upgrades at RDH, expected to be completed in late 2027, would include adding bathrooms to eight birthing suites, a new three-bed assessment area, a private waiting space for labouring mothers and refurbishment of the parents’ kitchen.

The project will also include upgrades to maternity rooms and bathrooms, which can accommodate up to 30 mothers at a time, as well as the installation of a general nursery within the maternity ward and a family waiting room outside the birthing and maternity suites.

There will also be a separate bereavement room outside the maternity suites for those who have lost a baby, along with a lactation room and staff bathroom in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The funding will also support upgrades to centralised foetal monitoring systems at RDH, with the technology to be implemented for the first time across all Territory maternity centres in Katherine, Gove, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. The systems will allow obstetricians and midwives to provide state-of-the-art foetal monitoring and access clinical support in real time from tertiary centres.

“I made a commitment to secure this $10 million for improved maternity facilities and services at Royal Darwin Hospital, and today I’m delivering on it,” Mr Gosling said.

“This investment strengthens public maternity care, but it does not replace the private maternity service Darwin lost.

“The NT Government now needs to work with private providers to restore that service and give Territory women genuine choice about where they give birth.”

Territory Health Minister Steve Edgington said the infrastructure improvements represented the first major changes to the maternity ward in many years.

“The CLP has been advocating for these upgrades with the federal government for some time, and we are pleased for Territory families that they are coming to fruition. This is a great outcome for the Territory,” Mr Edgington said.

NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said the Finocchiaro Government waited until May last year to seek help from the Federal Government but did not submit a business case until January this year.

The Finocchiaro Government was first informed Healthscope was having trouble maintaining its maternity services at Darwin Private Hospital in September 2024, with the company publicly announcing the decision to close them in February 2025. The original closure date was April 17, 2025.

The closure was delayed until June 6, 2025 to allow more time for affected families and staff to transition and to maintain services for existing bookings.

The CLP Government reached an arrangement with Mercure Darwin Airport Resort from June 1, 2025, allowing eligible privately insured parents to stay in a deluxe suite for up to four nights after giving birth at RDH. The arrangement provided support for 45 expectant families while longer-term private maternity options were considered.

The closure of the private maternity service was expected to result in an additional 250 births at RDH each year.