A cash-strapped regional hospital has enraged volunteers by setting aside about $200,000 in community fundraising to buy artworks, when they expected the money to go towards beds and equipment.
Albury Wodonga Health’s two opportunity shops gave about $500,000 to the health service last year from the sale of clothes, jewellery, books and household goods, according to volunteers.
The op shop workers say the money has in the past been used to buy medical equipment or improve patient services such as the mother and baby unit.
The hospital’s website states that the money raised from the two shops – in Wodonga and Albury – goes towards purchasing hospital equipment.
But at team meetings during the second half of 2025, the charity store workers were told the health service had set aside about $200,000 for the purchase of major artworks.
The hospital proudly unveiled four vinyl wrap artworks last year that covered the pillars in its main entrance hall in the Albury site.
Many of the 50 or so op shop volunteers were furious with the allocation, and the saga has sparked a complaint to the state corruption watchdog.
“People were so cross about this,” one volunteer told this masthead on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The volunteer said the funds should have been spent on hospital equipment and that’s what the community would have wanted.
The Albury opportunity shop raised $369,499 in the 2024-25 financial year, according to Albury Wodonga Health’s latest annual report.
There is debate in Albury-Wodonga – as well as in the halls of parliament in Victoria, NSW and Canberra – about whether the hospital is being adequately resourced for its growing population.
“Years ago they sent off this equipment list and we’d tick all this stuff off thinking, yeah, bariatric beds,” the volunteer said. “One year I think it went to the dental service.”
A second source with links to Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) – who would also only speak on the condition of anonymity – said they had heard that one of the op shop volunteers had confronted a senior hospital leader when they learnt how the funds would be used.
“When they complained, he told them to bugger off. It’s a cesspit.”
While it is not known how much of the $200,000 allocated for artworks has been spent, the health service announced in June 2025 that “four beautiful vinyl art wraps” had been installed at its main entrance to transform “what was once a blank canvas into a connected and inviting space”.
The artworks displayed on the pillars – taken by a local photographer – portray gum trees along the Murray River. The artist is not accused of any wrongdoing.
“These installations were made possible thanks to generous donations from our volunteer run op-shops and the ongoing work of the AWH art committee,” an online message posted by AWH stated at the time. “We’re proud to create spaces that feel welcoming, therapeutic, and connected to our local landscape.”
Albury Wodonga Health reported a $7.14 million operating deficit for the 2024-25 financial year, and a $36.3 million operating deficit the year before.
In January, this masthead revealed that the health service had the highest percentage of staff reporting burnout of any Victoria-run health service.
Last week, Victorian opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier told parliament that “10 of the 12 ED beds” at Wodonga Hospital were recently taken up by admitted patients and that, collectively, Albury Hospital and Wodonga Hospital regularly start the day “50 to 70 beds short of what they need”.
Albury Wodonga Health is jointly funded by the Victorian and NSW governments but reports to the Victorian Health Department. The health service was set up in 2009 with the merger of Albury Base Hospital and the Wodonga Regional Health Service.
It caters to about 300,000 residents from southern NSW and north-eastern Victoria.
The recent whistleblower complaint to Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission concerns not just how some of the op shop funds were spent, but where. The complaint, seen by this masthead, asks whether a potential conflict of interest was identified with the spending and, if so, if it was appropriately managed.
The whistleblower complaint states that the vinyl wraps were publicly announced on the same day the hospital announced the appointment of new senior officials, one of whom allegedly has family connections to one of the businesses that assisted with the project.
Although the official’s appointment did not take effect until several days after the artwork’s installation, the whistleblower alleges there are unanswered questions around the timing of the art purchase and the job offer.
This masthead asked Albury Wodonga Health whether it had identified any potential conflicts of interest with recent art projects, and how it would manage any conflicts – real or perceived – going forward.
In response, AWH chief executive Bill Appleby said that in 2024, two areas were identified as priorities for investment: the replacement of hospital beds, and improvements to amenity and aesthetics across its hospitals.
“Funds raised through our two opportunity shops are directed straight towards the priority areas identified by AWH,” Appleby said.
“Over the last two years, that’s meant replacing hospital beds and improving the look and feel of our campuses, so patients and families have a more comfortable, safer experience.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our volunteers, their work in the op shops directly benefits our patients and staff, and we simply couldn’t do it without their commitment and generosity.”
A Victorian government spokesperson said the use of donations was a matter for the hospital board.
“All hospital boards and directors must meet probity requirements to identify, address and manage conflicts of interest,” the spokesperson said.
“Health services are responsible for managing any declared or perceived conflicts in accordance with their obligations.”
This masthead has chosen not to name the senior hospital official and the business related to the artwork installation because it does not suggest the claims made to IBAC are true, only that a complaint has been made and may be investigated.
An IBAC spokesperson said: “As a matter of practice, IBAC does not comment on whether it has a complaint or investigation before it.”
In September, this masthead revealed that previous complaints about financial and staffing decisions at the cross-border health service sent to IBAC had been handballed to the Victorian ombudsman.
It is not unusual for Victoria’s major hospitals to install significant artworks to give patients some comfort while recovering from a major operation or grieving a loved one.
These installations are typically funded by major philanthropists.
In November, this masthead revealed that the Royal Melbourne Hospital had constructed a purpose-built security control room via public donations, which hospital insiders and the state opposition characterised as concerning and unusual.
Hospital foundations typically raise funds for things such as research breakthroughs, world-class medical equipment or improvements to patient facilities.
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Broede Carmody is a health reporter for The Age. Previously, he was a state political reporter for The Age and the national news blogger for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
