As part of the Rural and Regional Infrastructure Package, the Queensland Government committed to co-locate inpatient and community mental health services at Cairns Hospital and construct a new mental health precinct. The project utilises the final developable portion of the Cairns Hospital campus through the demolition of the existing mental health unit.

The solution maximises the use of the wedge-shaped site available, maximising the outlook toward the mountains to the west, and the esplanade and the ocean to the east, establishing positive urban activation while maintaining privacy for the consumers.

The new unit is distributed over three levels with connections back into the existing Block A hospital building and the two upper floors providing the accommodation for 53 beds. These spaces are arranged into pods which cater for a range of consumers ranging from mental health intensive care to special needs and the vulnerable. Space for future expansion is included on the ground floor.

The design represents contemporary clinical design to support the care model of the facility. It achieves this whilst creating positive connections to place, developed in collaboration with the local indigenous community.