23 March 2026
Government must answer for regional ambulance delays
The Nationals, Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland MP is calling on the Victorian Government to explain ongoing delays in ambulance response times across regional communities, after a formal parliamentary question asked in December 2025 remains unanswered months later.
In December last year, Ms Cleeland asked the Minister for Ambulance Services what specific actions the Government would take to improve ambulance response times in regional communities such as those across the Euroa electorate.
The question also asked whether the latest quarterly data from Ambulance Victoria showed a deterioration in response times for Code One incidents in regional Victoria, and how many additional paramedics, vehicles and resources would be deployed to regional areas over the next 12 months.
Despite the seriousness of the issue, the question remains unanswered.
“This is not a political game – it’s about life and death in our regional communities,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Families across our region deserve to know what the Government is doing to ensure an ambulance arrives quickly when someone is experiencing a life-threatening emergency.”
The response time target set for Ambulance Victoria is to reach 85 per cent of Code One incidents within 15 minutes. However, the latest data (01 Oct 2025 – 31 Dec 2025) shows communities across the region are falling well short of that benchmark.
In Benalla, the target is met just 58.2 per cent of the time.
In Strathbogie, the rate drops dramatically to just 32.7 per cent.
In Mitchell, the figure sits at 51.6 per cent.
In Greater Bendigo, the highest but still severely under target figure is 64.2 per cent.
Ms Cleeland said these figures highlight the growing disparity between metropolitan and regional emergency healthcare.
“When someone calls triple zero, they shouldn’t have to worry about whether they live in the city or the country,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Regional Victorians pay their taxes just like everyone else, and they deserve the same timely access to emergency care.”
Ms Cleeland said the Government must urgently explain what steps are being taken to improve ambulance coverage and response times across regional Victoria.
“The Minister must answer the questions that were asked months ago and outline exactly what support is coming for regional communities,” Ms Cleeland said.
“People’s lives depend on it.”
The Ambulance Victoria Figures can be seen at https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-02/2025-26-Q2-Ambulance-Response-Quarter-2-FY2025-26.pdf