For the past decade, Ronald McDonald House South East Queensland’s South Brisbane House has stood alongside families with ill or injured children during some of life’s most challenging moments.
It has been a safe landing place for thousands of families. A place where they can find moments of normalcy amid uncertainty. A place to call home.
Our Houses provide families with a warm, supportive place to stay just moments from the hospital. With private rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities, and welcoming communal spaces, families can experience the comforts of home while being surrounded by the care and support of volunteers, team members and other families on similar journeys.
As we celebrate 10 years of South Brisbane House, we’re reflecting on the impact this remarkable House has had and the countless families who have called it home while their child received vital medical care.
When South Brisbane House opened in 2016, it marked a new chapter for Ronald McDonald House South East Queensland. Purpose-built alongside Queensland Children’s Hospital and Mater Mothers’ Hospital, the House was designed to meet the growing demand for accommodation and support services for families travelling away from home to access their child’s treatment.
Over the years, families from every corner of Queensland, northern New South Wales and beyond have walked through our doors.
Some families stay for only a few nights. Others stay for weeks, months, and sometimes longer.
Within these walls, lifelong friendships have been formed, milestones have been celebrated, and countless moments have been shared between families navigating similar journeys. Parents have found comfort in knowing they are not alone, and siblings have had a place to laugh, play, and simply be children during challenging times.
For many families, South Brisbane House becomes more than a place to stay. It becomes home.
Today, South Brisbane House is the largest Ronald McDonald House in Australia and proudly ranks as the largest House in the southern hemisphere by number of rooms.
While its size is certainly impressive, the significance of the House cannot be measured by numbers alone.
Its true impact can be found in the families who have been able to stay together during treatment, the parents who could remain close to their child’s bedside, and the moments of support and connection that happen every day throughout the House.
Over the last decade, thousands of families have found comfort here during periods of uncertainty. Each room, shared kitchen and communal space holds its own unique stories.
South Brisbane House today looks very different to the House that first opened its doors a decade ago.
Over the years, the House has grown through a staged approach, with each expansion reflecting a simple reality: more families need access to specialist healthcare and a place to stay close to it.
Every stage of development has been guided by a commitment to meeting the needs of families and ensuring they have access to safe, comfortable accommodation when they need it most.
Earlier this year, we celebrated the completion and fit-out of Level 7, marking the final stage of the House’s long-term vision. The floor introduced seven multi-bedroom apartments designed specifically for larger families and those requiring extended stays while their child receives treatment.
The completion of South Brisbane House ensures more families can stay together, close to the care their child needs, for years to come.
As we celebrate 10 years of South Brisbane House, we honour every family, volunteer, donor, partner and team member who has been part of this journey.
Most importantly, we celebrate the families who have walked through our doors and trusted us to be their home away from home during some of the most challenging times of their lives.
For the past decade, South Brisbane House has helped families stay close to the care they need and close to one another. While much has changed since opening day, one thing remains the same: our commitment to ensuring families stay at the heart of their child’s care.
For some families, South Brisbane House is a place they will never forget. For others, it is a place they return to visit years later. But for every family who has stayed here, it is a place that helped carry them through a chapter they never expected to face alone.
Here’s to many more years of vital support.
We provide essential services, enabling families to stay together, stay strong and promote healing when their ill or injured child needs healthcare.
With your help, you can ensure more families stay together, when their child needs them most.
