On 29 April 2026, Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) in Sydney officially transferred to public ownership under the NSW Health system. For the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA), this moment was the result of more than a decade of sustained organising, campaigning and advocacy.

The NSWNMA began fighting against the privatisation of Northern Beaches Hospital 13 years ago, when it warned the previous Coalition government that its public-private partnership (PPP) with Healthscope would be detrimental to the people of the Northern Beaches. The union campaigned long and hard against the hospital being privately run and owned, holding rallies outside the hospital as well as at the former Manly and Mona Vale hospital sites. 

The union had already won similar battles elsewhere. The NSWNMA defeated the Coalition's privatisation plans for five regional hospitals — Bowral, Wyong, Goulburn, Maitland and Shellharbour — but Northern Beaches went ahead.

The tragic death of two-year-old Joe Massa in September 2024 at the hospital brought hospital’s failures into sharp public focus. His parents became tireless advocates for the transition to public ownership. 

A report by the Auditor-General found that the privatisation model did not allow NBH to deliver adequate health services and created tension between profit motives and health outcomes.

The NSW Government purchased the 494-bed hospital for $190 million in October 2025. And finally in April 2026, the hospital was formally brought back into public system.

“We are relieved that this milestone has finally arrived, after raising staffing and safety concerns at Northern Beaches Hospital for years. Our union began fighting against privatisation of NBH 13 years ago, when we warned the previous Coalition government that this PPP would be detrimental to the people of the Northern Beaches. Today is a chance to not only celebrate the hospital going into public hands but also acknowledge that this should never have occurred in the first place,” said Michael Whaites, General Secretary, NSWNMA.

Katrina Bough, Assistant General Secretary, NSWNMA said that nurses and midwives working at Northern Beaches Hospital have fought long and hard for this win, advocating for safe patient care and quality health services.

“They never gave up the fight to have the hospital taken out of private hands,” said Bough. “Our members also strongly advocated to ensure their entitlements were carried over, and the recent tax ruling on the transition of annual leave was a key union win for nurses and midwives.”

She informed that the staff is now looking forward to their conditions improving, including having nurse-to-patient ratios like their public hospital colleagues, which will lead to a safer workplace and quality care.

There is overwhelming evidence that PPPs are not the right model for delivering public healthcare services to the community. The Northern Beaches win adds to that body of evidence — and to the case that when unions organise consistently and continue advocacy, privatisation can be reversed.