The completion date for a new children's hospital has been declared "unknown" following a fresh dispute with contractor BAM, which has been unable to say when prefabricated bathroom pods that failed fire safety compliance tests will be repaired. The delay adds to a long-running saga of setbacks plaguing the project, raising fresh concerns about cost overruns and the timeline for delivering the facility to the children and families who depend on it.

The prefab bathroom pods, manufactured off-site and installed as part of the build, did not meet required fire safety standards, forcing a halt while remediation work is assessed. BAM has so far been unable to confirm a revised schedule for fixing the defective units, leaving officials and the public without clarity on when the hospital will ultimately open.