Victoria’s emergency departments are set for a shake-up in 2025, with new standards designed to speed up patient handovers, ease pressure on frontline staff, and get paramedics back on the road faster. The Allan Labor Government is rolling out the changes across all emergency departments after consultations with clinicians, health services, unions, and Ambulance Victoria.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced the new approach, which has already been trialled at top-performing hospitals. These standards focus on improving patient flow through better preparation, streamlined processes, and more efficient ambulance and emergency department coordination.
The blueprint is inspired by the Austin Hospital, which has been leading the way in emergency care. By allocating dedicated senior clinicians to oversee patient transfers and refining assessment guidelines, the hospital has consistently improved its response times. The model ensures that ambulances aren’t left waiting and are swiftly returned to the community.
Under the new guidelines, patients will be redirected to alternative care settings where possible, transfers will be handled more efficiently, and inpatient admissions and discharges will be accelerated. Hospitals will introduce these measures gradually, acknowledging that each health service has different capabilities and resources.
This initiative complements broader efforts already underway, with 28 hospitals and Ambulance Victoria working on ways to enhance emergency care. The Victorian Budget 2024/25 has allocated $146 million to Ambulance Victoria to support this mission. Further investments have gone into expanding alternative care services, including the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department, Urgent Care Clinics, and Ambulance Victoria’s triage and transport programs.
Minister Thomas highlighted the efforts of healthcare workers in managing demand while ensuring patients receive timely care. “While our ambulance and ED wait times are heading in the right direction – thanks to our hardworking healthcare workers – we know there is more to do, which is why these new standards are so important.”
With demand on the health system showing no signs of easing, these reforms aim to ensure Victorians can access high-quality emergency care without unnecessary delays. Whether they achieve that goal remains to be seen, but the focus is clear: faster patient care and ambulances back on the road where they belong.
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