Canberra Hospital and University of Canberra Hospital Parking: Both Free, 3-Hour Limit in the Southern Car Park, Ticket Validation at UCH (Canberra, ACT)

Parking is free at both of Canberra’s main public hospitals, Canberra Hospital in Garran and the University of Canberra Hospital in Bruce, according to Canberra Health Services. The rules differ: Canberra Hospital’s Southern multi storey car park gives you 3 hours free, while the University of Canberra Hospital gives you a ticket on entry that you must validate before you leave.

This guide collects the parking, drop-off and bus details from five official Canberra Health Services pages, all read on Saturday 7 November 2026. It does not cover visiting hours or clinical services.

Is parking free at Canberra Hospital?

Yes. Canberra Health Services says the hospital “has free parking for patients, visitors, and staff”. The hospital is on the corner of Yamba Drive and Hindmarsh Drive in Garran, in Canberra’s Woden Valley, and its main entrance is in the Critical Services Building (Building 5) on Hospital Road.

The hospital warns that most people arrive by car and that parking can sometimes be hard to find. Its advice is to give yourself plenty of time to find the hospital and a parking place.

How do I drive into the Canberra Hospital campus?

You can enter the campus from three sides:

Entry	Leads to
Yamba Drive, north and south bound	Bateson Road
Palmer Street, Garran	Bateson Road
Gilmore Crescent, Garran	Hospital Road

The Emergency Department is on Hospital Road. You can reach Hospital Road from Bateson Road or Palmer Street, and the hospital says you access Hospital Road from Bateson Road.

Which car park should I use at Canberra Hospital?

Car park	Where	Time limit	Walk to hospital
Southern multi storey	Bateson Road, the large grey and orange car park visible from Yamba Drive and Hindmarsh Drive	Free 3 hours; no limit on accessible parking	About 300 metres to the main entrance
Yamba Drive South	Across the road from the campus; entrance only from Yamba Drive heading north towards the City	Free 3 hour and all-day parking	About 350 metres, partially uphill, with several road crossings at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings
Building 3 Bateson Road short stay	Bateson Road	30 minutes (4 spaces)	Not stated
Bateson Road short stay (old Emergency Department end)	Bateson Road	2 hours (40 spaces)	Not stated
Buildings 10 and 11 (Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and ACT Pathology)	Hospital Road	30 minutes (9 spaces)	Not stated

Building 5, which holds the main entrance and the Emergency Department, has limited short-stay parking.

What is the Southern multi storey car park like?

The hospital describes the Southern multi storey car park as undercover, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with motorcycle parking and a wheelchair return bay on Level 2 next to the lifts. Level 4 has an undercover pedestrian link to the Adult Mental Health Unit in Building 25.

To reach the main hospital on foot, use Level 2: turn left to exit the car park and follow the undercover walkway along Hospital Road. For Building 19 (the Canberra Region Cancer Centre) and the Building 3 Eye Clinic, use Level 1, then take the ramp or the pedestrian crossing.

Where can I be dropped off?

Canberra Hospital lists drop-off and pick-up zones close to its major entrances:

• Emergency Department, Building 5, Hospital Road
• Building 3, Rheumatology Outpatients, Bateson Road
• Main Hospital Entrance, Building 5, Hospital Road
• Building 15, Hospital Road
• Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, Hospital Road, corner of Gilmore Crescent
• Canberra Region Cancer Centre, off Bateson Road
• Adult Mental Health Unit, Dann Close off Bateson Road

The hospital also runs a free Courtesy Bus around the campus. The Rheumatology and Dermatology Outpatient Clinic in Building 3 can be entered only from Bateson Road, and the hospital says you can call the Courtesy Bus to arrange a pickup and drop off from various locations around the campus.

What about accessible parking?

The hospital says it offers plenty of accessible spaces in the Southern multi storey car park and in some smaller car parks. You must display your disability parking permit to use them.

• For all-day parking, the hospital says the best car park is the Southern multi storey car park, levels 1, 2 and 3, which have no time limit for accessible parking.
• For the easiest hospital access, use the Building 12 undercover accessible parking: 28 accessible spaces with a 3-hour limit.
• Building 3 Bateson Road short stay car park has 4 accessible spaces with a 3-hour limit.
• Buildings 10 and 11 (Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and ACT Pathology) have 2 accessible spaces with a 3-hour limit.

The nearest accessible toilets are in Building 19 at the Canberra Region Cancer Centre (exit the car park lift at Level 1, take the ramp, and the toilets are down the corridor immediately to the left of the entry doors) and in Building 3, just past the Eye Clinic reception desk.

What if I stay longer than my parking time?

If you are a patient and you have been unexpectedly delayed while attending an appointment, receiving treatment or being seen by a doctor, the hospital says to ask a staff member in your appointment area to contact its Parking Operations team before your parking time runs out. They will see to it that you do not receive a parking ticket. Know your vehicle’s model and colour, its registration number and where you parked.

If you do receive an infringement, you can apply to dispute it. The hospital says you can ask for a certificate of attendance from the area where you had your appointment and use it as evidence. Further information is on the back of the infringement notice or from the Access Canberra Contact Centre on 13 22 81.

Duress alarms are placed throughout the car parks and walkways. If you face a personal safety risk or a medical emergency such as chest pain or shortness of breath, the hospital says to press the alarm and speak with the attendant.

Which buses stop at Canberra Hospital?

Transport Canberra services run in and around the campus. The hospital lists bus stops in four places: on Yamba Drive near the hospital entry, on Gilmore Crescent near the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, on Bateson Road close to Palmer Street outside the Woden Valley Child Care Centre, and on Bateson Road behind the multi storey car park.

Stop number	Location
2095	Yamba Drive opposite Canberra Hospital (going north)
2382	Yamba Drive, Canberra Hospital side (going south)
2601	Yamba Drive entrance (Building 2)
2265	Gilmore Crescent, Garran Primary School side (going south)
2264	Gilmore Crescent opposite Garran Primary School (going north)
2617	Bateson Road opposite the Child Care Centre (going east)
2604	Bateson Road, Child Care Centre side (going west)
5100	Bateson Road adjacent to the multi storey car park (going east)
2600	Bateson Road opposite Building 15 (going west)

The hospital says it has completed bus stop and accessibility upgrades, with more sheltered and seated stops, improved pathways and wayfinding signage at the new accessible entry points. It also points to Transport Canberra’s free Flexible Bus Service for older people and people with mobility difficulty who have limited access to the public transport network.

Is parking free at the University of Canberra Hospital?

Yes, for patients and visitors, with one step to remember. The University of Canberra Hospital (UCH) is on Guraguma Street in Bruce, and Canberra Health Services says it “has free parking for patients, visitors, and staff”. The multi storey and basement car parks give you a ticket as you enter, and you need that ticket to get out. The hospital’s instruction is to validate your ticket for free parking before you leave.

Validation point
Main Hospital Reception
Mental Health Reception
Brindabella Day and Ambulatory Rehabilitation Service Reception

Unauthorised users with no affiliation with the hospital can be charged an exit fee of $20.00 for using the car park. Payments can be made at the parking validation machines in the basement lift foyer, or at the boom gate on exit.

How do I drive to UC Hospital, and where do I park?

From Ginninderra Drive, travelling west only, turn onto Guraguma Street. From Aikman Drive, turn into Thirriwirri Street and turn left at the roundabout onto Guraguma Street. There is a drop-off and pick-up zone at the main entrance.

There are three car parks: a multi storey car park, an accessible car park, and a basement car park. The basement car park is only open during the day, and you cannot park your car there overnight. The walk from the multi storey and basement car parks is approximately 1 minute and 100 metres.

Which buses stop near UC Hospital?

The stops are on Thirriwirri Street opposite the hospital, and on Aikman Drive opposite the hospital at the traffic lights near the entrance to Thirriwirri Street. The hospital lists these Transport Canberra services:

Route	Suburbs served	Stop location
R8	Gungahlin	Aikman Drive (opposite UC Hospital)
R8, 24, 31, 43, 901	Belconnen	Aikman Drive (between Thirriwirri Street and Townsend Place)
31, 901	Belconnen	Thirriwirri Street (opposite UC Hospital)
24	Nicholls via McKellar and Federation Square	Aikman Drive (opposite UC Hospital)
31	City via Kaleen, Dickson and Braddon	Thirriwirri Street
43	Spence via McKellar and Evatt	Aikman Drive (opposite UC Hospital)
901	North Canberra Hospital	Thirriwirri Street

This table is as listed by Canberra Health Services on 7 November 2026.

How do the two hospitals compare?

	Canberra Hospital (Garran)	UC Hospital (Bruce)
Cost	Free for patients, visitors and staff	Free for patients, visitors and staff
Time limit	3 hours free in the Southern multi storey car park; all-day parking in the Yamba Drive South car park	None stated; validate your ticket before you leave
Ticket	No ticket described on the page	Take a ticket on entry and use it to exit
Charge	Infringement possible if you overstay	$20.00 exit fee for unauthorised users
Overnight	Southern multi storey car park open 24 hours	Basement car park closed overnight

Sources

• Canberra Health Services: Canberra Hospital, arriving by car (read 7 November 2026)
• Canberra Health Services: Canberra Hospital, arriving by bus (read 7 November 2026)
• Canberra Health Services: Canberra Hospital, getting here and getting around (read 7 November 2026)
• Canberra Health Services: University of Canberra Hospital, arriving by car (read 7 November 2026)
• Canberra Health Services: University of Canberra Hospital, arriving by bus (read 7 November 2026)

Featured image: Canberra Hospital main building and Yamba Drive bus stop, November 2025 (photo: Nick-D / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Canberra Health Services, ACT Health or Transport Canberra. Parking rules and bus routes can change; check the hospital’s page before you travel.