Media releases

Gippsland’s future allied health workers will have access to specialised laboratories and teaching spaces to equip them to enter the local workforce, following the opening of Federation University’s new Allied Health and Activity Centre.

The $4.4 million facility will feature modern teaching spaces designed to simulate a clinical setting and be home to Federation University’s occupational therapy and physiotherapy students.

The project involved the transformation of a disused area of the Gippsland campus to create a state-of-the art space that can be customised to suit the lesson.

The centre will support interprofessional learning, with a section of the building featuring high-tech exercise equipment for sport science students. Nursing students will also be able to use the new facility.

The Gippsland campus is preparing to welcome a full cohort of physiotherapy students in 2021 – the first year of the program’s delivery.

Physiotherapy and the Occupational Therapy course - now in its second year - were introduced in response to growing local workforce demand and were supported by a $500,000 grant to Federation University from the Victorian Government’s Regional Skills Fund.

The number of physiotherapists in Gippsland is projected to grow from 167 in 2016 to 237 by 2036, according to the 2019 Gippsland’s Future Health and Community Services Workforce report commissioned by the Latrobe Valley Authority in partnership with Latrobe Regional Hospital and Latrobe City Council.

The same report projected the number of occupational therapists would grow from 150 in 2016 to 212 in 2036.

Quotes attributable to Federation University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley

“We are proud to be providing programs that will lead to meaningful jobs that are in desperate demand in the Gippsland region.”

“This state-of-the-art facility will help give our students the practical experience they need to enter the workforce and enrich their local communities.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

 "After the Gippsland Regional Workforce Plan identified a shortage of allied health professionals, we have been working with Federation University to address this gap.”

 “It’s fantastic to see this hard work paying off with the opening of the Allied Health and Activity Centre helped to fruition through the Regional Skills Fund."