Gold Coast-Based MedSim XR: The Company You Need to Know This Month

Paramedics-in-training across the Gold Coast are donning VR headsets and working virtual defibrillators this month thanks to MedSim XR, a Surfers Paradise company whose mobile ‘simulation lab’ is making waves at TAFE Southport and Gold Coast University Hospital. The company’s portable extended reality platform, launched June 20, is already being used by more than 120 local students a week.

Why This Innovation Matters Now

Medical simulation training is notoriously expensive and usually tied to fixed labs in big-city teaching hospitals. That leaves smaller campuses and rural placement programs at a disadvantage. MedSim XR’s technology breaks this pattern. Their kit—rugged VR and AR headsets paired with wireless sensors—rolls into a van and sets up anywhere with WiFi. Overcrowding is a regular problem in Southport’s existing simulation facilities, especially during TAFE assessment periods. Reshuffled timetables, limited manikin access, and pressure on nursing cohorts have all been well-documented as barriers to high-quality training. This mobile platform removes those bottlenecks.

This matters more than ever as the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, anchored by Smith Street, scales up its partnership programs. "We can now deliver scenario-based trauma and cardiac emergency drills at Tweed Heads, Bond University’s medical school, or even pop-ups near The Star in Broadbeach," a company spokesperson told The Daily Gold Coast.

Local Uptake and Impact

Already, both TAFE Queensland Southport and Griffith University’s School of Medicine have signed on for 6-month pilot programs using MedSim XR’s kit in their paramedicine and nursing courses. The company’s first major deployment, held June 22 on the top floor of the Gold Coast Private Hospital, simulated multi-casualty beach rescue scenarios on virtual Main Beach—with emergency response times tracked and student actions digitally assessed in real time.

MedSim XR was founded by Dr. Lara Whelan, an emergency physician based at Robina Hospital. Headquarters are above the buzzing café strip on Orchid Avenue in Surfers Paradise. CEO James Riordan says the portable rig costs local partners $4,950 per month for a standard four-headset setup—roughly half the price of fixed traditional manikin labs according to internal procurement data from Gold Coast Health. By late July, MedSim is scheduled to deliver workshops at the Helensvale Community Centre and run a live training event during the Broadbeach Life Saving Club’s winter skills expo on July 27.

According to Gold Coast Health statistics, over 1,500 new student clinical placements are expected across Surfers Paradise, Southport, and Robina in 2026. MedSim XR aims to reach at least a third of these trainees by the end of the year. The hardware bundles are manufactured in Burleigh Heads and assembled in a converted warehouse on Nerang Street, close to the council’s innovation hub.

What Happens Next

Local education partners say they plan to assess student outcomes by comparing on-site test scores before and after XR simulation exposure. Gold Coast University Hospital’s academic coordinators are tracking skills retention rates over a three-month interval. MedSim XR is accepting expressions of interest from schools and first responder groups through July, with the next intake of program participants due to be announced August 2. For Southport educators or event organisers keen to try the tech, MedSim is offering free half-day demonstrations at The Health Precinct until July 19.

For a Gold Coast region determined to lead on applied healthtech innovation, MedSim XR is one to watch—keep an eye on Smith Street’s hospital corridor later this month for the next generation of paramedics, kitted up in virtual gear and ready to respond.