Report by Steve Hart
Emergency ambulance response times in Sunbury have slipped in recent years as Ambulance Victoria struggles to keep up with demand.
Official statistics show that in the first three months of 2019 there were 413 calls that required a code one – sirens and lights – response. Of these, 363 (87.9%) arrived within the service’s 15-minutes target time. However, in the three months to 31 March this year little more than half met the target.
Since 2019 average emergency ambo arrival times in Sunbury have grown from 10 minutes to more than 17. Response time starts the moment a triple zero call is answered to the first Ambulance Victoria resource arriving.
During the first quarter of this year, less urgent code two calls in both Sunbury and Hume City had a 40 to 45-minute arrival time.
| Sunbury | Jan-March 2019 | Jan-March 2023 | Jan-March 2024 | Jan-March 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of code 1 calls | 413 | 578 | 607 | 615 |
| Percent arrived within 15 mins (Actual) | 87.9% (363) | 59% (341) | 58.6% (355) | 51.5% (323) |
| Average response time | 9min 57sec | 15min 44sec | 15min 45sec | 17min 17sec |
| Sunbury’s population | 39,156^ | 39,175* | 42,080^ | 45,000** |
| Code 1 target arrival time is 15 minutes or less. Data: Ambulance Victoria | ^Profile ID | *2021 census | **Estimate |
The busiest local government areas for Ambulance Victoria are Hume, Casey, Wyndham, and Whittlesea.
Turning to Hume City, medics reached almost 90% of code one calls within the 15-minute target in the first three months of 2019. For the same period this year, just 60% of ambos met the target.
Ambulance Victoria declined to comment on our findings, with a spokesperson writing: “Unfortunately, we won’t be providing specific comments this time around.”
| Hume City | Jan-March 2019 | Jan-March 2023 | Jan-March 2024 | Jan-March 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of code 1 calls | 2,888 | 4,303 | 4,298 | 4,513 |
| Percent arrived within 15 mins (Actual) | 89.5% (2,584) | 61.3% (2,637) | 61.5% (2,643) | 60.1% (2,712) |
| Average response time | 10min 14sec | 15min 34sec | 15min 30sec | 16min 00sec |
| Hume City population | 235,370^ | 243,000* | 271,709^ | 278,173** |
| Code 1 target arrival time is 15 minutes or less. Data: Ambulance Victoria | ^Profile ID | *2021 census | **Estimate |
Population growth
There’s no doubt Hume and Sunbury have seen population growth in recent years, and while more people could mean more emergency calls, it is hard to argue that this is wholly responsible for the increased triple zero calls or Ambulance Victoria’s slower arrival times.
It’s estimated Hume’s population has grown 18% since 2019 (Sunbury 14%), but the number of code ones has risen 56% over the same period (Sunbury 48%).
Without data on what ambo staff are responding to it’s impossible to understand why the number of calls are out of kilter with the city’s population.
Sunbury Life asked Ambulance Victoria for the data. A media spokesperson suggested we put in a Freedom of Information request as they couldn’t release it. In 2023 Ambulance Victoria announced a new set of values, coming second in its list is ‘accountability and transparency’.
State stats
In the 2023/24 financial year, Ambulance Victoria saw its annual budget cut by more than $137m due to a reduction in state government grants. Its 2024/25 budget is $1.6bn. The service will hear on 20 May how much it will get for the 2025/26 financial year (which starts 1 July).
In total, Ambulance Victoria responded to 95,321 code one emergencies across the state in the three months to 31 March, down 4.5% from the final quarter of 2024. The average response time was 15 minutes 25 seconds, with 65% (61,958) of cases reached within its target time.
Since November 2024 it has hired 119 paramedics from New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, and New Zealand. And while that’s great for Victoria, attracting staff from other areas does not increase national capability. However, recruitment efforts have yielded good results.
Danielle North, Ambulance Victoria’s executive director of regional operations, said in a written statement: “Our largest single intake of 30 mobile intensive care ambulance intern paramedics hit the road earlier this year providing a significant boost to critical care across Victoria.
“We are also rolling out new digital radios across regional Victoria and iPads to all our crews making it easier and faster to complete electronic patient care records and get back on the road quicker.”
