Industry Overview – Ambulance and Paramedic

This site (weblink provided below) provides information and data on the Ambulance and Paramedic sector and workforce.

The Ambulance and Paramedic sector delivers fundamental pre-hospital and out-of-hospital care services. Services can be provided in both emergency and non-emergency scenarios, and workers in the sector carry out important roles in terms of injury/illness prevention, health promotion and the determination of patients’ long-term outcomes. Demand for emergency and non-emergency health care services both in pre-hospital and out-of-hospital settings has been growing steadily, and statistics show 3.5 million patients were assessed, treated or transported by ambulance service organisations from 2017–2018.

In 2017–2018, the total full-time equivalent (FTE) salaried workforce in ambulance services in Australia was 17,883, of whom 81% were in operative ambulance roles and 19% were in corporate and operational support roles. Strong employment growth is expected for Ambulance Officer and Paramedic roles over the next five years, with the majority of this growth, expected to be across Paramedic job roles.

Volunteering is a significant practice across the sector and in 2017–2018, 6,600 volunteers were involved in ambulance services, with the majority (92%) active in operational roles rather than administrative or support function areas. Volunteering within operational roles has been increasing steadily over the past five years.

The Ambulance and Paramedic Training Package Products include seven qualifications that support pathways to employment in various job roles across the sector. The Ambulance and Paramedic Industry Reference Committee (IRC) has responsibility for these seven qualifications within the HLT – Health Training Package.