Ambulance Tasmania meets just 17% of safety standards in mock audit

Ambulance Tasmania underwent a mock readiness assessment by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, which measured its progress against the National Safety and Quality Health Service standards. The agency fully met only 23 of 138 actions, representing a 17% compliance level. Assessors flagged delayed responses to severity-assessment-code-one incidents and coronial recommendations, outdated policies, missing Indigenous patient data fields, and a poor incident-reporting culture that could trigger mandatory notification to the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care.

The Health and Community Services Union described the outcome as "diabolical" and urged additional resources. In response, the Department of Health said Ambulance Tasmania is implementing a new credentialing framework, completing a policy review, redesigning its clinical governance structure and reallocating staff to strengthen safety and quality functions. The mock assessment is not an accreditation but a step toward meeting national benchmarks.