The Victorian Government has committed $50.7 million to Ambulance Victoria in the 2026/27 Budget, with funding directed at improving emergency response times, easing pressure on Triple Zero services, and returning paramedics to the road more quickly.
The investment centres on managing demand across Triple Zero Victoria, where an expanded Secondary Triage team now handles close to one in five emergency calls. The team, made up of paramedics, nurses and mental health specialists, assesses cases that do not require an ambulance and connects callers to other forms of care.
This includes directing patients to services such as Virtual ED or providing advice for self-care. The government has allocated $28.6 million to continue expanding this approach, aiming to free up ambulances and call takers for more urgent cases.
A further $9.7 million will go towards improving how calls are triaged, reviewed and classified, with the goal of ensuring the most urgent emergencies receive an immediate response. An additional $2 million will support a clinical triage team focused on frequent callers, helping coordinate care that better meets their needs while reducing repeat demand on emergency lines.
Support for lower urgency cases includes welfare checks, connections to alternative services such as Urgent Care Clinics, and arranging transport options where appropriate.
The budget also includes $10 million to extend a pilot program aimed at reducing ambulance transfer times at hospital emergency departments during peak periods. The initiative provides dedicated spaces with additional staff and equipment so multiple ambulances can offload patients at the same time, allowing paramedics to return to duty sooner while patients are assessed more quickly.
Minister for Ambulance Services Harriet Shing said the funding builds on recent improvements across the system.
“Our hardworking ambos are some of the best anywhere in the world and we will always back them,” she said.
“We’re making sure the sickest Victorians get the emergency care they need, when they need it.”
“Victoria’s Code 1 ambulance response times are continuing to improve and are now amongst the fastest in Australia, but there’s always more to do.”
The government said the latest measures add to ongoing expansion across the ambulance network, including the construction or upgrade of 50 stations and a workforce increase of more than 50 per cent in recent years.
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