The Victorian Budget has plenty for new hospitals but few details on Commonwealth Games

The state budget has promised lots for new hospitals and schools, but details surrounding the Commonwealth Games remain scarce.

A growth corridor in Melbourne’s west has been shown plenty of love in the 2023-24 state budget, but no further details about 2026 Commonwealth Games funding have been revealed.

Melton, tipped to be home to more than 415,000 people by 2050, was one of the big winners in Tuesday’s state budget

The municipality on Melbourne’s western fringe secured the first injection of cash for a new TAFE, estimated to cost $55m and expected to be completed in 2028.

Funding for a TAFE in Sunbury was also announced in the budget, with the two set to be completed by 2028/29,

“TAFE is training Victorians for jobs now and for the future,” Higher Education Minister Gayle Tierney said.

“We’re backing more Victorians to get the skills they need for careers in in-demand sectors and building better TAFEs right across the state.”

Melton also received $537,000 towards an $8.9m upgrade of Melton Secondary College, while Melton South Primary School will share in $10m this year as part of a schools upgrade delivery fund.

The new Melton hospital at Cobblebank has also received a $21.5m injection, though figures about remaining expenditure are yet to be confirmed.

The hospital, expected to cost about $1bn, has received about $59m of state funding so far, with the project expected to be completed in late 2028 or early 2029.

The $2.6bn set aside for the Commonwealth Games in last year’s state budget remains, but is yet to be itemised, with the state government still waiting for the federal government to come to the party.

All projects announced for the 2026 games in regional Victoria, including significant upgrades to Eureka Stadium, are on track.

An artists view of what Mars Stadium will look like for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Picture: Victorian Government.

In a big boost for the state’s health sector, six new hospital developments were announced in the budget.

West Gippsland, Monash Medical Centre, Wonthaggi Hospital, Dandenong Hospital and the new Queen Elizabeth II Hospital - which will replace the Maroondah hospital - will share in $320m over the next four years.

More than $350m has been allocated for the Frankston Hospital redevelopment, with the government expecting the bulk of the project to be completed by 2025.

The Frankston Hospital upgrade set to be completed by 2025.Picture: supplied

The Beaufort and Skipton Health Service has missed out again on funding for its $25m masterplan for its Beaufort campus.

The closest the campus has got to securing funding was a $22m election promise by the Liberals.

Footscray Hospital received a $634m boost cash towards its $1.9bn total, of which about $1.6bn has been funded.

The Bendigo rehabilitation centre also received $17m for redevelopments, which have been pushed back to 2024/25.

Warrnambool mental health ward has received the final $622,000 it needed to complete a $10m upgrade.

Regional public transport has been made cheaper at the cost of $41.1m in 2023-4, increasing by between $2m and $3m each year afterwards.

More services have been promised for Shepparton, Warrnambool, Ararat and Echuca lines, while trains along Geelong, Ballarat, Seymour and Gippsland will travel more frequently on weekends.

An additional weekend night service has been added for Bendigo, as well as another morning peak hour service between Castlemaine and Bendigo.

The budget contains no further funding for the Western Highway duplication from Ballarat to Stawell as it may be subject to the federal government’s infrastructure review.

More than $589m has been spent on the project so far, with the total estimated investment to include nearly $500m of federal funding.

Treasurer Tim Pallas called it the “most difficult budget that I’ve had to frame”, saying that it was now the beginning of a new era – “the post-Covid era for the state and its finances”.

He said the budget accounted for every Labor Party election commitment.

See below for some of the major projects across the state.

Albury-Wodonga

$50,000 grant in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 for conservation work along the Murray and Kiewa Rivers

Ballarat

Ballarat Health Services redevelopment – $86m

Keeping Ballarat Moving roadworks – $2.3m, with delays cited regarding land acquisition at Ballarat-Carngham Rd and Dyson Dr intersection

Ballarat Railway Station upgrade – $10.1m

Lydiard St Level Crossing upgrade $7.3m – delayed to Q4 2023-4 “to factor in complexities of heritage and signalling elements”.

Woodmans Hill Secondary College – $189,000

Bendigo

Repair of Rochester and Heathcote VicSES Emergency Hub – $3.5m

Bendigo Art Gallery redevelopment – $2m

New rehabilitation centre – $17.3m

Funding for operating new Bendigo Law Courts

Dandenong

Dandenong Hospital

Monash Medical Centre

Footscray

Footscray Hospital – $634m

Frankston

Frankston Hospital – $350m

Melton

New Cobblebank hospital – $21.6m

TAFE in Cobblebank – $3.3m

Kurunjang Secondary College – sharing in $20m for statewide school upgrades

Melton South Primary School

Melton Secondary – $537,000

Melton Specialist School – $9.7m

Melton Line Upgrade – $650m

Toolern Vale and District Primary School – $6.4 million

Bus route from Eynesbury to Melton Station

Mildura

Rehabilitation facility – $2m

Shepparton

Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment – $4.6m

Planning for Shepparton bypass

Warrnambool

Merrivale Primary School – $4.3m

Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment – $85.9m, with completion date revised to Q4 2026-27