Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham

This week I approved a determination to release $200 million to the Department of Finance (Finance) to support construction of Centres for National Resilience (CNR) in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, using the Advance to the Finance Minister AFM. This is the third allocation made to Finance for this program and brings total AFM allocations to date to $821 million.

The additional funding supports construction of the Centres for National Resilience (CNRs) at Mickleham in Victoria, Pinkenba in Queensland and Bullsbrook in Western Australia.

The total project cost for all three CNRs is estimated to be around $1.3 billion consistent with the project budget. Construction of the first 500 beds for the Centre for National Resilience Melbourne is complete with target construction completion for the remaining 500 beds by the end of February 2022.

The expected total cost for the Melbourne Centre is approximately $580 million. Specific costs for the Perth and Brisbane Centres are yet to be finalised, with procurement of work packages still in the market.

The Centres achieve strict infection prevention standards and meet high construction standards, so they can endure for decades to come beyond ongoing COVID management needs, such as temporary accommodation for people displaced by natural disasters and emergencies, or to assist with international humanitarian efforts, or future health crises.

The AFM determination was signed on 10 February 2022 and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, together with an Explanatory Statement (these are available at legislation.gov.au).