Since the late 1990s, there has been a growing interest in developing centres devoted to simulation-based specialist skills training, mainly in anaesthesia and surgery. Following the successful establishment of a training centre at the Royal College of Surgeons, England, local philanthropist Mr Daniel Hill offered preliminary sponsorship for the building of a similar centre in Perth. With the financial support of The University of Western Australia, the Western Australian Department of Health and members of the medical industry, a working party chaired by Professor Richard Vaughan AM was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition.

In 2000, a custom-built skills centre, the Clinical Training and Evaluation Centre (CTEC), was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. In the quarter century since, over 56,000 health professionals have participated in training at CTEC. Originally established as a Joint Venture Partnership, CTEC was incorporated into The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences in 2007. Today, CTEC is poised to play a major role in streamlining medical education. This unique combination of high-fidelity equipment, state-of-the-art facilities and a professional academic approach has led to increased cooperation between The University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Department of Health, with CTEC providing high quality medical training to enhance risk management and clinical safety in Western Australian hospitals.