The Illawarra Women’s Health Centre (Illawarra WHC) has officially opened a northern site at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus, expanding its reach to support women across the region.
The new location will increase accessibility for women living north of Wollongong, particularly those who may have found the Warilla location difficult to access.
The Centre is on the first floor of The Central (the building with Piccolo Me and the UniActive gym) and offers counselling, financial advice, and domestic, family, and sexual violence casework.
Services coming soon include massage therapy access to a women’s health nurse practitioner who will provide free services, including:
- Cervical screening test, including the option for self-collection (previously known as the pap smear test)
- Contraception advice, management, and prescription
- Pregnancy testing and pregnancy options counselling
- Vaginal/vulval symptoms assessment, advice, and referral
- Endometriosis, pelvic pain, and period issues
- Menopause and perimenopause advice and information on treatment options
- Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, management, and safe sex advice
- Breast examination
- Pre-pregnancy planning
- Postnatal check-ups, parenting support, and advice
The Warilla site, which first opened in 1986, has long served as a vital hub for women’s health in the region, providing trauma-informed services with a strong focus on mental health, domestic and family violence, and general well-being.
While the Centre serves women from Helensburgh to Gerringong, research shows it largely reaches women within a 25-kilometre radius of the Warilla site.
“We knew we had to do more to support women in the north,” said the Women’s Health Centre Executive Director, Sally Stevenson.
“This new location is about meeting women where they are and removing the barriers that prevent them from accessing essential care.”
The new site aims to engage more culturally and linguistically diverse communities, First Nations women, women with disabilities, and younger women.
The location offers practical benefits such as free parking for Centre users, public transport access, and proximity to North Wollongong Station, helping to close the accessibility gap.
The Centre has self-funded the Northern site as a temporary measure to provide services to women.
However, Ms Stevenson said they are seeking a permanent site in the northern suburbs.
“Ultimately, we want the State Government to invest in a permanent, fully staffed northern site – one that matches the scale and impact of our Centre in Warilla.
We know domestic and family violence and AVO breaches are significantly higher in Wollongong and the northern suburbs. This service must be built to respond directly to that reality and deliver the targeted support these women deserve.”
The Illawarra Women’s Health Centre Northern Site is open to women Monday to Friday. You can call us on 4255 6800 to book an appointment, or feel free to drop in to visit. Directions are here.
You can also attend our fortnightly morning tea on Mondays, beginning 7 April.
