Tasmanian Triple Zero callers were told no ambulance was immediately available nearly 17,000 times in 2025-26, or about 46 times a day, according to health department figures obtained by the state Labor opposition. The number of delayed activations rose by 30 per cent from the previous year.
Delayed activations are recorded when it takes at least three minutes for an ambulance vehicle to be dispatched. The figures also show that total Triple Zero calls increased by 6 per cent to 115,735 during the year. The data showed no significant improvement in median ambulance response times in any Tasmanian region over the past two years.
The figures come amid accounts from patients who experienced lengthy waits. Rosie Maddock, 75, said she waited three hours for an ambulance after falling in a bathroom at a pathology appointment in Glenorchy. She later spent three weeks in hospital while being treated for blood clots and bruising to her leg.
Labor health spokesperson Sarah Lovell described the figures as “deeply concerning” and said they showed the government’s ambulance-ramping policy had not worked. The Health and Community Services Union’s state secretary, Robbie Moore, said the situation was “simply unacceptable”, and attributed ambulance shortages to hospital bed block, which can leave paramedics caring for patients who have not been admitted.
Health Minister Bridget Archer said all Triple Zero calls were triaged according to clinical need and that a delay could occur when an ambulance was treating someone with a more serious condition. She said demand had contributed to the increase, while assuring Tasmanians that anyone needing an ambulance would receive one.
The Liberal government promised during the 2024 state election campaign to ban ambulance ramping by requiring patients to be transferred from ambulances to emergency departments within a set period. The initial target was 60 minutes, with a planned reduction to 45 minutes. Labor said the later stage had not been implemented, while Ms Archer said the government remained committed to the policy. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has opposed the policy’s implementation and taken the government to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.