March 3, 2026March marks Hearing Awareness Week, with 3 March recognised as World Hearing Day by the World Health Organization.
This year’s theme, “Hearing care for all children, from communities to classrooms,” reinforces the importance of early identification and timely intervention to support children’s speech, learning and social development.
At Northern Health, we are proud to strengthen this commitment through the launch of our new paediatric-focused audiology service at Craigieburn Community Hospital.
A Purpose-Built Facility for Growing Communities
The new Craigieburn service is delivered from a purpose-built facility designed specifically to support paediatric assessment and family-centred care. Equipped with cutting-edge diagnostic technology and sound-treated testing environments, the service enables highly accurate, efficient and child-friendly hearing assessments.
This contemporary setting has been thoughtfully designed to create a welcoming experience for children and their families, while providing clinicians with advanced equipment to support early diagnosis and ongoing management of hearing loss.
Leading Expertise Across Sites
The Craigieburn expansion is supported by the recent appointment of Senior Audiologist, Dr Julia Wunderlich, who now leads audiology services across both Craigieburn and Epping. The Audiology Team, which includes experienced audiologists Mr Jasna Bruce and Ms Yen Nguyen, delivers high-quality diagnostic and management services, with a predominantly paediatric caseload, while also supporting adult patients through internal referrals as required.
The Craigieburn expansion complements our established audiology service in Epping and reflects Northern Health’s response to rapid community growth and increasing demand for local services.
Supporting Early Intervention and Access
Globally, millions of children and adolescents experience hearing loss, and many remain undiagnosed without access to appropriate services. By investing in purpose-built infrastructure and advanced diagnostic capability at Craigieburn, Northern Health is ensuring families can access high-quality hearing care closer to home.
With plans to further expand access into Mernda in the future, Northern Health remains focused on delivering accessible, high-quality, community-based audiology services that enable children and families to thrive.
Featured image: Dr Julia Wunderlich, Senior Audiologist at Craigieburn Community Hospital
