Youth services 27 October 2022

Sites announced for new youth prevention and recovery care centres

We’ve announced the sites for five new youth prevention and recovery care (YPARC) centres across Victoria.

The $141 million project will construct five new 10-bed facilities. It will also deliver important upgrades to existing centres in Bendigo, Dandenong and Frankston.

The five new facilities will be located in:

Greater Geelong - 40 Little Fyans Street, South Geelong (operated by Barwon Health)
Greater Ballarat - 31-39 Durham St, Newington, (operated by Grampians Health)
Greater Shepparton - 5-7 Numurkah Rd and 107-109 Balaclava Road, Shepparton (operated by Goulburn Valley Health)
Heidelberg - the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital (operated by Austin Health)
Traralgon - 49-63 Hyde Park Road, Traralgon (operated by Latrobe Regional Hospital).

YPARC centres provide flexible, around-the-clock clinical care in a residential setting for young people aged 16-25 experiencing mental ill health.

About the new centres

The new facilities will be designed to be welcoming and home-like. They’ll have private bedrooms complete with ensuite bathrooms. Communal kitchens, dining and living areas, breakout spaces and an outdoor garden will encourage rest and recovery, and support family visits.

Designs for the new facilities are underway and draw on the insights and experiences of clinicians, carers and young people with lived experience of mental ill health.

In addition to the five new sites across the state, existing YPARC centres in Bendigo, Dandenong and Frankston are being refurbished and modernised. The process to appoint a builder to oversee construction for the refurbishments is underway.

Learn more about the youth prevention and recovery care centre expansion program.