ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a basic introduction to health facility planning in Australia. A facility is defined as a complex of buildings, structures, roads and equipment. Facility planning policies are also broadly similar between states. Such policies include guidelines for facility planning, benchmarking requirements, capital charging, and the requirement for a public health asset proposal to be developed within the context of a strategic, corporate or asset management plan. Capital feasibility planning examines the business case for meeting an identified need through a capital investment. The capital feasibility plan includes an evaluation of current facilities to assess their future physical and functional adequacy. The development of the Asset Strategic Plan required the Area to begin by identifying the future overall service requirements that the Area Health Service aims to meet. This was identified within an Area-wide Service Delivery Strategy and could then be matched to the current health facility capacity and functionality.
