Premier Ben Carroll has promised to cut emergency department wait times by 20 per cent if Labor is re-elected. Speaking at University Hospital Geelong, he said 12 hospital emergency departments would be expanded by 25 per cent. The plan also includes 1500 new health workers, among them 750 nurses, and 250 more beds. Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said the changes would allow more than 210,000 patients to be treated each year. The state average emergency department wait is currently 15 minutes, though some patients wait more than two hours.
Premier Ben Carroll has promised to expand a dozen emergency departments by 25 per cent as Victorian Labor launches its bid for a fourth term. The $1.5 billion health package also includes 1,500 more health workers, half of them nurses, and 150 extra hospital beds, most opening next year. Labor says the expansions will cut waits by up to 20 per cent at hospitals in Melbourne and regional Victoria. The Australian Medical Association welcomed the funding but called for a review of the whole emergency care system.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has launched Labor's campaign for a fourth straight term, pledging to cut emergency department wait times. He announced $1.5 billion to expand emergency departments at 12 hospitals, with 250 extra beds and 1500 more health workers. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, speaking at a vandalised Upwey South tennis club, focused on crime and pledged 3000 new police officers. Mr Carroll accused the coalition of seeking to Americanise the health system, a claim Ms Wilson rejected. The state election is on November 28.
AU Now app
Your suburb’s news, alerts and Shorts — in one app
Alerts, Shorts and your saved stories — free on Google Play.
Tasmanian doctors want an independent commission of inquiry into the state's health system, saying problems are connected and need a broad review. The Australian Medical Association's Tasmanian branch made the call after a man died shortly after his family drove him to the Royal Hobart Hospital because no ambulances were available. Health Minister Bridget Archer rejected the proposal, saying it would cost more than $30 million, take years and duplicate an existing Legislative Council inquiry.
NSW Health has warned people not to buy or use unapproved peptide products after emergency department visits linked to their use rose sharply. Surveillance data recorded 1,180 presentations between July 2025 and September 2026, with monthly visits climbing from five to more than 217. Clinicians have reported serious illness, including kidney damage and liver injury. Health Minister Ryan Park said the growing pressure on the health system was alarming. Anyone already using an unprescribed peptide should speak to a health professional before their next dose.
Emergency department presentations linked to unapproved peptide products have risen sharply across New South Wales. NSW Health recorded 1,180 such presentations between July 2025 and September 2026, with 730 in Sydney's local health districts. Monthly cases climbed from five in July 2025 to 217 in September 2026. Health officials warn that unregulated products may contain unknown substances or incorrect amounts of their labelled ingredients. Minister for Health Ryan Park and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged people to speak with a doctor before using any peptide product.
Queensland paramedics say they are spending entire 12-hour shifts with patients stuck outside overcrowded emergency departments. Latest figures show 42 per cent of ambulance patients at the state's top 26 public hospitals waited more than 30 minutes to be transferred in August. QEII Hospital recorded the highest rate in Queensland at 64.8 per cent. A 51-year-old man was found dead about two hours after calling Triple Zero, and an investigation is underway. Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the government remained hopeful of meeting its target of under 30 per cent by 2028.
Construction of the $17 million South Tuggeranong Health Centre in Canberra has been completed, and the doors are expected to open before the end of the year. The facility will offer diabetes care, community paediatrics, pathology collection and fall and injury prevention programs. About 40 full-time Canberra Health Services staff will relocate to run it. ACT Deputy Chief Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the 2026/27 budget allocates $4 million over four years to operate the centre. Health Minister Marisa Paterson said such centres aim to reduce pressure on emergency departments.
Stakeholders say the Tasmanian government has failed to act on ambulance ramping and hospital bed blocking after a Hobart man died. His family drove him to the Royal Hobart Hospital because no ambulance was available, though he was categorised as urgent. The health department said it would investigate the incident. The Health and Community Services Union said three ambulances were ramped at the hospital at the time. The premier said a 60-minute transfer protocol had freed up 30,000 extra ambulance hours. Paramedic union figures disputed this, saying conditions are worsening.
Emergency departments will increasingly struggle to cope with a rising number of elderly patients, according to a new report from the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine. Presentations by older people rose 16 per cent from 2019 to 2024, and half of those visits led to hospital admission. Experts say older people are falling through the gaps across the health and aged care systems. Aged care waitlists have left many people without crucial care, with an average of 17 older Australians dying each day last year while waiting for home care support.
A Perth grandmother, Elsie Gribben, waited almost 48 hours in a corridor at St John of God Midland Hospital in March, her daughter says. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine says only 54 per cent of older patients were given an inpatient bed within eight hours in 2023–24, down from 75 per cent in 2018–19. Its report links the pressure to an ageing population and says most hospitals are not equipped to meet rising demand. Federal and state ministers have each blamed the other's government for the problem, which they say relates to aged care placements and hospital capacity.
A national report has warned that Australia's health system is not ready for the growing number of older patients in emergency departments. The State of Emergency report, released by the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, says emergency departments are often left to fill gaps in care. In Tasmania, the number of older patients attending emergency departments rose by 19 per cent between 2018-19 and 2023-24. ACEM Tasmania branch chair Juan Carlos Ascencio-Lane said patients are being left on trolleys and chairs, and staff are under enormous pressure.
Fewer emergency patients are now leaving hospital within eight hours, a drop from more than 95 per cent in the past. Australasian College of Emergency Medicine president Peter Allely says more older Australians are arriving sicker. A college report found hospital visits by over-65s rose 16 per cent in the six years to 2024, against four per cent for younger people. Dr Allely says the growth was predictable and that the system has not prepared for it. Political parties have also proposed migration cuts that could affect aged care workers, many of whom are migrants.
Fewer emergency patients are now leaving hospital within eight hours, a drop from more than 95 per cent in the past. Australasian College of Emergency Medicine president Peter Allely says more older Australians are arriving sicker. A college report found hospital visits by over-65s rose 16 per cent in the six years to 2024, against four per cent for younger people. Dr Allely says the growth was predictable and that the system has not prepared for it. Political parties have also proposed migration cuts that could affect aged care workers, many of whom are migrants.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has committed a Liberal and Nationals government to deliver up to 10 new or expanded patient transit lounges across Victorian hospitals. The lounges would give patients who are medically ready to leave a dedicated space while they wait for medication, transport or final discharge arrangements. This would free inpatient beds sooner for patients waiting in emergency departments. A $99 million Patient Transit Lounge Fund would prioritise hospitals with the most severe ambulance ramping. Locations would be decided after consultation with health services and clinical need.
AU Now app
Your suburb’s news, alerts and Shorts — in one app
Alerts, Shorts and your saved stories — free on Google Play.
Ambulance ramping across Queensland's 26 major public hospital emergency departments sat at 42 per cent in August, according to latest Queensland Health data. That is 3.3 percentage points worse than July. The figure is only marginally better than the 43.9 per cent recorded in August 2024, before the Crisafulli Government took office. Premier David Crisafulli has tied his cabinet future to cutting ramping below 30 per cent before the 2028 election. Opposition leader Steven Miles said the figures would continue to worsen without growth funding, a workforce plan and new beds.
