Utopia Refugee and Asylum Seeker
Health Services

We first met Lester in 2016 when he engaged Brave New Eco to renovate his home. A few years later, he returned with something far more ambitious.

Lester had spent years working in refugee and asylum seeker health services, where he understood the compounding barriers many people face in accessing care: language, geography, Medicare ineligibility, and costs they cannot absorb. He decided to build a solution himself — a not-for-profit primary care clinic, named Utopia, providing GP services at no cost regardless of Medicare status.

Unable to find a purpose-built property in Melbourne's outer west, Lester pursued residential conversion — a large 1990s house in Hoppers Crossing. We resolved a floor plan accommodating two waiting rooms, three treatment rooms, a counselling room, day surgery, accessible bathroom, staff rooms, and reception within the existing envelope.

With a tight interior budget, we retained and re-sealed existing timber floorboards, introduced natural light across every area, and specified low-flow tapware, non-toxic surfaces, and energy-efficient systems. The overarching aim was a space where clients and staff alike feel welcome, safe, and well supported.

It remains one of the projects we are most proud to have been part of.

— Read the journal post to find out more