Canterbury-Bankstown Council backs $2b hospital's chapel push

Canterbury-Bankstown Council voted unanimously on 27 October to recommend the New South Wales government include a Christian chapel in the $2b Bankstown Hospital rebuild in Sydney, The Catholic Weekly reported on 30 October 2026. The new teaching hospital is planned as a 14-storey tower on Chapel Road, Bankstown, within the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area, on a former TAFE site in the Bankstown CBD rather than the current hospital’s footprint.

Why it matters

Deputy mayor Rachelle Harika, who drafted the motion, wants the existing Bankstown Hospital’s Christian chapel and two separate prayer rooms replicated at the new site rather than dropped from the design. Harika argued the local government area has some of the highest rates of religious observance in the state and said both the Christian and Islamic communities stand to benefit from keeping dedicated chapel and prayer room space. “That is a win for faith across the board,” Harika said. According to Harika, state MP for Bankstown Jihad Dib has separately raised the chapel request with NSW Health Minister Ryan Park. Fr Dariusz Basiaga SDS, parish priest of St Luke’s in Revesby, is on call to minister to patients at Bankstown Hospital and backed the push, saying the hospital needs to support those who are suffering.

The numbers

Two Change.org petitions calling for a dedicated Christian prayer space at the new hospital have drawn almost 10,000 signatures between them, according to The Catholic Weekly. The hospital’s tower is planned at 14 storeys with an adjoining 10-storey car park, and construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 once the design is finalised. The council’s recommendation was carried unanimously at its 27 October meeting, with no dissenting vote recorded in the report.

What’s next

NSW Health’s project materials describe hospital space as built primarily for healthcare, with faith needs met through shared multifaith facilities rather than denomination-specific rooms. Mohamed Elshafei, a senior Muslim chaplain with NSW Health quoted in the report, said most state hospitals provide only multifaith rooms, describing shared space as the realistic option in cramped hospitals, while noting Muslim patients would prefer a separate prayer room of their own. The Catholic Weekly said it sought comment from NSW Health before publication. For Health Infrastructure, the unanimous local vote adds political pressure to the design brief before the state confirms a final floor plan for the rebuild.