The University of Notre Dame Australia’s newly built Melbourne Clinical School at Werribee, Victoria has been officially opened.


The Federal Government invested $11.2 million through the Health and Hospital Fund to construct the school, which will support the education, training and clinical placement of up to 80 medical students from the university. The medical school includes teaching, training and research facilities.


Notre Dame Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond said the new school building demonstrated Notre Dame’s commitment to producing outstanding, ethical and caring doctors in the most up to date facilities.

“The new school further strengthens Notre Dame’s presence in Victoria and will make a valuable contribution to the medical needs of the local community. The building will also support the clinical education unit at Werribee Mercy Hospital which provides training for nurses and allied health professionals,” Professor Hammond said.

The 2,145m2 school, located on the Werribee Mercy Hospital campus, includes a lecture theatre, tutorial rooms, clinical skills area, student common room, dry laboratory spaces, office space, library and consulting rooms. The Victorian Government provided the land for the school, valued at $2 million.

Notre Dame’s medical school curriculum focuses on ambulatory models of care and the multi-skilling of staff in teams, and the building design therefore includes teaching rooms based on ambulatory and rehabilitation medicine and multidisciplinary skills training rooms.

The University’s Sydney campus celebrated its first graduating class of doctors in 2011, and recently had its AMC accreditation confirmed until December 2013.