Public events

At major events in Victoria, Ambulance Victoria (AV) helps make sure care is available if someone becomes unwell or injured.

One of our key roles is providing emergency medical care at the scene and on the way to hospital. This includes treating patients, deciding who needs care first, arranging transport, and coordinating the response on site.

We work in partnership with first aid providers, event organisers and emergency services to deliver safe, timely care. This approach helps people get care faster, supports safer events, and ensures ambulance services remain available for the wider community.

Public events can involve a range of risks, depending on the size, location and nature of the event. Event organisers have important health and safety responsibilities. First aid providers play a key role in supporting these.

AV can support events with dedicated resources through a fee‑for‑service model.

Care at events

First Aid Service (FAS) providers are an important part of event safety and are usually the first point of care. They treat injuries and illnesses based on their training and licence, which can range from basic first aid to more advanced clinical care.

They may help people recover and return to the event or arrange referral to other care where needed. FAS providers support events, but they are not ambulance services.

AV provides advanced care, ambulance transport, and coordination when it is required. Only AV provides emergency ambulance transport to hospital and coordinates that response. If an ambulance is not already on site, this is accessed by calling Triple Zero (000).

Ambulance Victoria’s role

Planning and resourcing events

AV assesses an event to determine the level of support required. This may include:

• No on‑site attendance
• A single ambulance crew
• A larger response with additional crews and command roles

This assessment considers:

• Crowd size and density
• Weather and environmental conditions
• Event type and risk profile
• Patron behaviour
• Distance to hospitals
• First aid services on site

This approach helps ensure events are supported appropriately while maintaining ambulance availability for the community.

AV’s role at events

At public events, AV can:

• Provide clinical and operational leadership
• Provide ambulance care and transport when needed
• Work with first aid teams to support patient care
• Connect the event to the Triple Zero (000) system, hospitals and emergency services
• Help ensure ambulance services remain available for both the event and the wider community
• Lead the health and medical response if a serious incident occurs

For the public, this means:

• Faster access to care
• Safer events
• A coordinated response if something goes wrong

For event organisers, this means:

• Safer event delivery
• Support meeting health and safety obligations
• Reduced impact on local ambulance services
• Clear coordination if an incident occurs
• Direct connection to emergency services and hospitals

AV may provide a range of resources depending on the event, including ambulance crews, specialist paramedics and rapid response teams.

First Aid Service provider’s role

FAS providers play an important role in supporting care at events. They:

• Are licensed under the Non Emergency Patient Transport and First Aid Services Act 2003
• Plan and resource first aid services for the event
• Provide clinical care within their training and approved scope of practice

Their capabilities may include basic, intermediate or advanced care, and may involve first aiders, paramedics, nurses or doctors. They can:

• Assess, treat and stabilise patients
• Move patients within the event site to support care
• Work with AV to escalate patients who need further treatment

AV and FAS providers are expected to work in partnership to achieve the best outcomes for patients.

The Victorian Department of Health provides a list of licensed first aid providers.

Service differences

Differences in roles

FAS providers and AV have different roles.

FAS providers support care at events, but they are not ambulance services and do not perform the same functions. They cannot:

• Respond to emergencies through the Triple Zero (000) system
• Direct, task, or put on standby ambulance road or air resources
• Lead the health and medical response at an incident
• Provide transport to hospital
• Take on any of the authority or emergency management functions of AV

In rare and exceptional circumstances, a FAS provider may assist AV with transport, but only under AV’s direction.

FAS providers must not represent themselves as an ambulance service, including using the term “ambulance” for vehicles or services unless legally permitted.

Escalation and emergency response

If a person needs ambulance care, requests are managed through Triple Zero (000) or by AV staff on site.

FAS providers continue to care for patients until AV arrives, and the patient is handed over to AV or further arrangements are made.

Based on patient assessment and treatment needs, and advice from health care providers on site, AV and FAS providers will determine if transport to hospital is needed, and AV will coordinate how and when patients are transported to ensure safe and appropriate care.

If there’s an emergency incident on site especially if it becomes serious, complex, or is a mass casualty incident, AV leads the health and medical response. In these instances, AV will work with FAS providers to:

• Assess and prioritise patients for treatment and transport
• Work to give the best care possible to the most people possible with the resources available
• Arrange and coordinate transport
• Coordinate and direct the overall on-site health response

The Victorian State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP), the SEMP Health Emergencies Sub-Plan and the Role statement - Ambulance Victoria provide more information about AV’s role in emergencies.

Support for community events

AV provides high-quality emergency health care to our community.

As demand for our services grows, we focus on making sure our paramedics and vehicles are ready to respond when and where they are needed most. This ensures that everyone gets the right care at the right time.

Because of this, we cannot offer paramedic services for charitable events outside our regular schedule. These events could affect our ability to serve the community effectively.

Thank you for your understanding and support.