Victoria’s ambulance workforce will receive another boost next month, with 53 new paramedics beginning road duties across metropolitan and regional areas as demand for emergency care remains high.
The latest intake, welcomed by Ambulance Services Minister Harriet Shing on Monday, has started a four-week induction with Ambulance Victoria before being deployed from 17 August.
The recruits are the first graduate intake for the 2026-27 financial year and will undergo training in clinical education, emergency driving, manual handling and managing occupational violence before commencing supervised on-road placements.
Thirteen graduate paramedics will be stationed across Melbourne, including Tarneit, Cobblebank, Hadfield, Reservoir, Rowville, Brighton, Dandenong, Kew and Somerville.
Regional Victoria will receive the largest share of the intake, with 35 graduate paramedics and five qualified paramedics assigned to centres including Wonthaggi, Cowes, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill.
Regional Victoria will receive the largest share of the intake, with 35 graduate paramedics and five qualified paramedics assigned to centres including Wonthaggi, Cowes, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill
The additional staff come as Ambulance Victoria continues to manage sustained demand for emergency responses. Between January and March this year, paramedics attended almost 95,000 Code 1 emergencies, averaging more than 1,000 lights-and-sirens cases each day.
Ms Shing said supporting frontline paramedics remained a priority for the government.
“Our paramedics are there for Victorians when they need them most – that’s why we’ll always have their backs,” she said.
She said the government was continuing to invest in the workforce and ambulance services across the state.
“We’re continuing to support paramedics with more funding, training and support they need to keep providing world-class care in every corner of Victoria,” Ms Shing said.
The government said it has invested more than $2 billion in ambulance services, increased the on-road workforce by more than 50 per cent and built or upgraded more than 51 ambulance branches. It also recruited 294 graduate paramedics over the past year.
The announcement also carried a political attack on the Opposition ahead of next year’s state election, with Ms Shing warning against proposed spending reductions and raising concerns about the future of public ambulance services.
“Victoria can’t risk a One Nation Liberal Coalition that will privatise services, slash programs, and go to war with our paramedics. Only Labor will keep our ambulance services in public hands,” she said.
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