The Andrews Labor Government has always backed our paramedics – with more ambos, new stations and better training – and we’ll continue this strong record by delivering Australia’s first Paramedic Practitioners.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Ambulance Services Gabrielle Williams today announced that Monash University will deliver Australia’s first-ever Paramedic Practitioner Master’s degree – and they’ll be completely free.

The degree will be developed by Ambulance Victoria, Safer Care Victoria, paramedics, clinician, hospitals, and unions – with the first students commencing at the start of 2024.

Paramedics regularly transfer patients with serious, but not life-threatening, conditions to hospitals. With advanced clinical training, the new Paramedic Practitioners will be able to assess, diagnose patients and treat in the field, make clinical decisions and take pressure off our busy emergency departments.

Paramedic Practitioners can provide urgent care to patients who need it and eliminate the need for a trip to the hospital for many patients. The new course will prepare paramedics for the new role with a focus on advanced assessment techniques, diagnostics, clinical decision-making, treatment planning, legal and ethical considerations.

The Victorian Budget 2023/24 invested $20 million to establish the role of Paramedic Practitioner and deliver the new degree at no cost to trainees – and we’ll begin the rollout across regional Victoria, with the first 25 trained and on the road by 2026.

Since coming to Government, we’ve recruited more than 2,200 new paramedics – and we’ll continue our strong record with $277 million invested in this year’s Budget to recruit more paramedics, deliver better training and support innovative models of care.

We’re also backing initiatives that give Victorians the care they need, divert thousands of people from our busy hospitals and get our ambos back on the road sooner – with more support for our highly successful Virtual Emergency Department, Secondary Triage service and Medium Acuity Transport teams.

We’ll also recruit and train an additional 40 Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance paramedics and establish a Centre for Paramedicine – an Australian first.

We’re doing what matters for our paramedics – because we know they are always there for Victorians.

Quote attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews

“We’re making it free to become a Paramedic Practitioner – because money should never be a barrier to giving Victorians the care they need and deserve.”