Victoria’s emergency services cut jobs despite funding, worsening response times and raising safety concerns.

Victoria’s Triple Zero emergency service is cutting jobs amid a budget repair effort, raising concerns about emergency response capacity despite recent funding. Data shows ambulance call wait times worsened in May, with nearly 700 callers waiting over a minute—the highest since 2022—while thousands of police emergency calls also faced delays. Performance in answering calls within five seconds has declined from a pandemic-era peak of nearly 99% to around 92–93.8% in 2025, despite claims of increased frontline staffing since 2021. Cuts to support roles like workforce planning have disrupted operations, hindered hiring, and reduced backup capacity. A $25 million pledge to hire 50 new staff is seen as insufficient and short-term by critics, who warn that ongoing staff losses and reliance on ratepayer-funded levies undermine long-term readiness, especially ahead of a potential fire season.