- Published:
- Tuesday 18 August 2026 at 1:08 pm
Ambulance Victoria has welcomed more graduate paramedics to its ranks, as well as four highly skilled intensive care paramedics from overseas and interstate.
The four fully-qualified Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics will join ambulance branches in regional Victoria – and includes Ambulance Victoria’s first ever intensive care paramedic recruit from Vanuatu.
“Ambulance Victoria has some of the most highly trained and skilled paramedics in the world,” Ambulance Victoria Chief Executive Officer Jordan Emery said.
“We are very excited to welcome four recruits from Vanuatu, the UK and New South Wales to our MICA workforce.
“Their professionalism and expertise will deliver the very best specialist care for Victorians facing the most critical life-threatening emergencies.”
The new MICA paramedics will be based in Mildura (one), Horsham (one) and Wonthaggi (two), hitting the road from 14 September 2026.
Among the four is Jeff Mabbett, who was the CEO of the Vanuatu Emergency Services Association between 2024 and 2026. Jeff was originally from New Zealand. He will be based in Mildura.
He said he was drawn to Ambulance Victoria as a world-leading ambulance service.
“Ambulance Victoria has an international reputation for clinical excellence, innovation and evidence-based practice. For a MICA paramedic, it has some of the most advanced clinical practice guidelines. That was the drawcard – that I can keep all the skills I have and learn more,” Jeff said.
“I’m looking forward to working in Mildura. I’ve always enjoyed rural work because you have a mix of the rural city and large agricultural communities. Mildura also is a good family environment, so will be a great place for my kids to grow up.”
A group of 24 new graduate ambulance paramedics also started their careers with Ambulance Victoria on 17 August 2026, coming on top of 53 new recruits that started last month.
This latest intake of new graduate paramedics will complete their four-week Ambulance Victoria induction program before hitting the road on 14 September 2026. Of the 24 graduate ambulance paramedics, for their on-road training:
- 20 will be placed in metropolitan Melbourne ambulance branches including Clyde North, Montrose, Coolaroo, Point Cook, Werribee (2), Hillside, St Albans, Rosebud, SRC North in Campbellfield, Eltham, Watsonia, Heidelberg, Moonee Ponds, Ferntree Gully, Waverley, Caulfield, Kew, South Melbourne and Yarra Junction.
- Four will be placed in regional ambulance branches, including Belmont, Geelong, Kilmore and Gisborne.
Having completed their university degree, all new graduate paramedics start at Ambulance Victoria with a comprehensive four-week induction and training program, giving them the ‘real world’ skills they need to hit the road alongside experienced paramedics.
During this induction, recruits learn and refresh vital skills such as safely moving and loading patients to prevent injuries and safely driving ambulance vehicles.
MICA paramedics can perform advanced medical procedures such as advanced airway management including intubation, manage complex trauma injuries, administer intra-osseous (into bone) medications, treat life-threatening respiratory conditions and provide advanced management of cardiac conditions.
Their training includes a more detailed understanding of anatomy, physiology, patho-physiology and pharmacology to greatly increase the capacity to make complex clinical decisions and provide exceptional clinical leadership, in the pre-hospital environment.
“Working as a paramedic is an extraordinarily unique experience. Very few jobs will have such a profound and deep impact on peoples’ lives,” Mr Emery said.
“Our paramedics, first responders, volunteers and support staff are our greatest strength. It is through them that we lead the way in patient care, including the nation’s best cardiac arrest survival rates.
“We now have more than 5,600 on-road paramedics delivering the very best life-saving care, everywhere, and it’s great to see more joining our ranks.
“I truly wish all our new graduate and MICA paramedics the best for long and rewarding careers at Ambulance Victoria.”
More new graduate and qualified paramedics will continue to join Ambulance Victoria throughout 2026-27.
Updated