NSW Ambulance implements cost cuts following budget blowout

NSW Ambulance is implementing cost-cutting measures following a budget blowout. The NSW Ambulance Advisory Board reported that NSW Health has placed the service on “performance level three” due to serious concerns regarding its ability to operate within its allocated budget for 2026-27, a status representing “serious under-performance risk.”

To address the deficit, the advisory board is discussing reforms to reduce employee-related expenditure, premium labour, and full-time equivalent (FTE) counts. This includes restrictions on overtime, which paramedics in the Hunter region claim are leaving sick staff uncovered.

The Health Services Union (HSU) has criticized the move, with NSW secretary Gerard Hayes stating that treating sick leave as a budget line to be squeezed is a “slap in the face” to exhausted workers. Dr. Amanda Cohn, chair of the NSW Parliament health committee, also expressed concern that frontline workers should not face budget cuts while working in challenging circumstances.