Wednesday, 3 June 2026

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Water) (12:31): Backing our paramedics means backing them at every single stage of their career, from world-class training through to supporting them on the front line. This week, I was joined by the member for St Albans, Minister Suleyman, to see Victoria’s world-first Centre of Excellence in Paramedicine take shape in the heart of Melbourne’s west. That is a project that will be complete later this year, with a $10 million investment from the Allan Labor government. Delivered in partnership with Victoria University, our Australian-first facility will provide cutting-edge simulation and training environments for future and current paramedics. For students like Tori, Riley and Bonnie, it means more hands-on, real-world experience that builds on the skills and confidence needed from day one on the job. Thanks in particular to Tori for being part of the design and development stage as a graduate in paramedicine – her input has been invaluable.

When it opens later this year, the centre will support around 1500 students annually and help train the next generation of paramedics right here in Victoria. Backing our paramedics also means investing in initiatives that help them to get back on the road sooner, and that is why we have increased our on-road workforce by more than 50 per cent and invested a record $2 billion into ambulance services. This year’s budget invests a further $50.7 million to improve secondary triage, strengthen call-taking and dispatch and deliver innovative solutions to get paramedics back on the road faster. We are continuing to invest in initiatives that connect Victorians with the right care while avoiding a trip to the emergency department – taking pressure off our ambulance services, expanding the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department, delivering urgent care clinics and the nurse-on-call service. We are also introducing standards for timely emergency and ambulance care, and only Labor backs our hardworking ambulance paramedics. While the Liberal Party is working out which of these programs they will cut to fill their $40 billion budget black hole, we will continue to invest in those initiatives that work for paramedics and continue to save lives.