Canberra's paramedics are being subjected to occupational violence at a rate of more than once every two days, with the territory's ambulance chief describing recent incidents so severe that first responders have been transported to hospital themselves.
The ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) recorded more than 190 occupational violence incidents during the 2025-26 financial year — a figure its chief officer David Dutton has labelled "absolutely unacceptable".
Paramedics Becoming Patients
Mr Dutton said the violence being directed at ACTAS staff had escalated to a point where some paramedics had been removed from duty and taken to Canberra Health Services for treatment after being attacked on the job.
"Just in the last couple of months we've had instances where paramedics have become the patients after an incident of occupational violence," Mr Dutton said. "The paramedics have found themselves transported to hospital and assessed by Canberra Health Services staff."
He said the types of abuse paramedics routinely face include being sworn at, spat on, physically threatened, intimidated, struck and punched by members of the public. Readers who want to understand the broader human cost borne by frontline workers can find a related account from paramedics in NSW in this story about a family thanking paramedics who helped them say goodbye to a Wollongong tradie.
A Patient Safety Issue, Not Just a Worker Safety Issue
Mr Dutton was emphatic that the consequences of occupational violence extend well beyond the wellbeing of individual paramedics. When first responders are assaulted or threatened mid-task, their capacity to deliver urgent care is directly compromised.
"This is not just a safety issue for paramedics," he said. "This is also a patient safety issue because when paramedics are not safe, their ability to provide care can be interrupted or delayed."
He called on the broader Canberra community to take responsibility for helping keep paramedics safe, saying: "No-one comes to work and deserves to be sworn at, spat at, to be physically threatened or intimidated or struck or punched."
Understaffing Compounds the Pressure
The violence concerns come against a backdrop of chronic understaffing within ACTAS, which was highlighted in an internal review released last year. The situation drew public attention around that time when, on one particular night, only four stretchered ambulances were available across all of Canberra's roads for several hours.
The Transport Workers' Union, which represents paramedics, has recently criticised the ACT government's latest funding injection for frontline services, arguing it falls significantly short of what is actually needed. The union has indicated that at least 50 additional workers are required to adequately staff the service, but reports indicate the government's cash boost did not meet that threshold.
Mr Dutton's public comments signal that ACTAS is pressing for both community behaviour change and greater government support as it grapples with twin pressures of violence against its workforce and a persistent shortage of personnel.
