Canberra's City Health Centre will stay shut indefinitely while comprehensive work continues to remove asbestos found in non-occupied parts of the building and reopening options are "actively explored".
The building at 1 Moore Street has been shut since late June when asbestos-containing material was found in a plant room and it remained too early to confirm a new reopening date.
No asbestos has been detected in the occupied parts of the building in ongoing tests.
"But the extent of [asbestos-containing material] detected in non-occupied areas has reinforced the need for a comprehensive remediation program across the building," the government said.
Infrastructure Canberra said a specialist asbestos remediation contractor was now working in the building to remove the asbestos material, clean and complete clearance testing.
"At the same time, Infrastructure Canberra is continuing to assess options to support the future reoccupation of 1 Moore Street, including remediation and building works that address the source of the current issue and support the building's long-term operation," the ACT government agency said in a statement on Monday.
"Any decision regarding reoccupation will be informed by the completion of remediation activities, testing and independent expert verification."
The building was first closed for three days but Infrastructure Canberra has moved several times to extend the closure.
"The health and safety of building occupants, tenants, contractors and visitors remains the ACT government's highest priority. All decisions regarding access to, and reoccupation of, the building will continue to be guided by specialist expert advice and independent certification," the agency said on Monday.
"Infrastructure Canberra will continue to work closely with partner directorates to support tenant agencies and service providers in implementing business continuity arrangements and minimising disruption to services while the building remains closed."
The building is home to the MSI Canberra Abortion and Contraception Clinic, BreastScreen ACT, the canTEST pill testing service and the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN). The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal was also formerly located in the building.
Construction of the building, originally for the ACT Health Service, began in the 1970s before self-government, when asbestos was still widely used in building products in Australia.
Australia started introducing asbestos bans in the mid-1980s and totally banned the manufacture, use, reuse, import and sale of all asbestos forms in 2003.
The government identified the Moore Street building for sale as part of a Commonwealth asset recycling program more than a decade ago.
The 2016-17 ACT budget funded a business case for relocating the City Health Centre after its planned sale in the asset recycling scheme, which offered states and territories bonuses from the Commonwealth if they sold ageing infrastructure and reinvested the proceeds in agreed projects.
But the ACT government has retained the building and provided $3.1 million in funding between 2022 and 2024 to renovate office space and expand the Canberra Innovation Network's footprint.
The Canberra Innovation Network is temporarily relocating to office space at 64 Northbourne Avenue, Infrastructure Canberra said.
