Rat Infestation Forces Partial Peacock Centre Closure

Up to five rooms at the Peacock Centre’s residential unit (Peacock House) will reopen for admissions on Monday, 1 December following a rodent issue that caused damage to base building infrastructure, including electrics, ceilings and wall plaster. The Department of Health (DoH) states that repair work is underway, and while the residential unit was temporarily impacted, other services like Safe Haven and Recovery College remain open.

However, the Shadow Minister for Health has sharply criticised the situation, calling the infestation and subsequent closure of the in-patient mental health facility a symptom of dangerous failures in Tasmania’s health system and alleging that staff reports about unsafe conditions were ignored for months.

Media release – Dale Webster, Secretary, Department of Health, 27 November 2025

Peacock Centre update

Up to five rooms at the residential unit of the Peacock Centre will become available for admissions from Monday 1 December, as the Department of Health continues to respond to an issue caused by rodents at the North Hobart facility.

The residential unit of the centre, Peacock House, has been inspected by an occupational hygienist as planned, and work to repair the damage has commenced on Thursday.

The damage has been to base building infrastructure including some electrics and ceilings and wall plaster, which is being replaced.

An operational meeting has determined that the works will be far enough advanced that part of the residential unit can admit consumers from Monday next week.

Initially, up to five rooms will be available for admissions at that time.

The community can be reassured that the Peacock Centre remains open, with consumers requiring assistance or support still having access to the Safe Haven, Recovery College and the Mental Health Integration Hub as normal.

If residential support is required, consumers can still go to the Peacock Centre and this will be organised.

Care continues to be provided to consumers at appropriate alternative mental health services that meet their clinical needs.

The safety of all consumers and staff is our highest priority and we are working to ensure the residential unit will be able to take admissions as soon as it is appropriate to do so.

The community is reminded that a range of mental health care options are available to help you receive the care you need.

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, you can seek help and support from Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000).

For non-emergency mental health support, you can phone services such as Access Mental Health (1800 332 388) which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or Medicare Mental Health (1800 595 212) which is open weekdays 8.30am-5.00pm, excluding public holidays.

Media release – Sarah Lovell MLC, Shadow Minister for Health, Mental Health & Wellbeing, 26 November 2025

Rats in mental health facility expose dangerous failures in Tasmania’s health system

I am deeply concerned and frankly horrified that Peacock House, one of Hobart’s only public in-patient mental health facilities, has been forced to close because of a rat infestation.

At a time when our health system is already stretched to its limits, this is the last thing staff, patients and their families should ever have to deal with.

What worries me most is that this didn’t happen overnight.

Staff have been reporting these unsafe conditions for months. They’ve been subjected to unsafe working conditions and its resulted in staff becoming sick.

No health worker should ever be put in that position, and no patient should be treated in a facility that is clearly unsafe.

I want to know why nothing was done sooner. How did it get to the point where the entire facility had to be shut down before meaningful action was taken? Why were staff expected to keep working in these conditions?

Many Tasmanians had high hopes when Bridget Archer took over the portfolio but are now looking for action on issues like this.

Tasmania’s health workers deserve safe workplaces. Patients deserve clean, hygienic facilities, and Tasmanians deserve a government that steps in early, listens to staff, and fixes problems – not one that allows a mental health facility to deteriorate to the point of rat infestation before acting.

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