New South Wales Ambulance

NSW Ambulance, previously the Ambulance Service of NSW, is an agency of NSW Health and the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Established pursuant to the Ambulance Services Act, 1976 (NSW) and operating within the Health Services Act, 1997 (NSW), the service provides clinical care and health related transport services to over 7.9 million people in New South Wales (NSW), across an area of 801,600 square kilometres (309,500 sq mi).

NSW Ambulance employs more than 6,100 staff including 4,952 paramedics who operate over 1,600 response vehicles from 220 locations across the state. The service responds to around 1.1 million calls a year, with an average response time of 7.47 minutes to 1A emergencies (cardiac or respiratory arrests), against a target of 10 minutes.

In 2018, paramedicine became a regulated profession, legally protecting the title of paramedic and establishing mandatory professional standards for practitioners. Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency provide minimum requirements to ensure that paramedics in Australia are competent, qualified, and able to provide safe and effective care to the public. Other requirements include holding an accredited qualification, being fit to practice, and passing a criminal history check.

NSW Ambulance Headquarters officially moved to Sydney Olympic Park in 2024, joining the NSW Police Force Recruitment Branch and NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters. They had previously been located at Callan Park in Rozelle, NSW for almost 30 years (uncited). Some NSW Ambulance functions, such as Communications Education and Virtual Clinical Care Centre (VCCC), operate at the former Gladesville Hospital site.