We have one of the largest and most modern public ambulance fleets in the world, made up of over 1,500 vehicles, of which 999 are front line ambulance vehicles with an average age of 18 months. The majority of our fleet is leased for a maximum period of three years, with the exception of Toyota Landcruiser that are leased for four years. We replace approximately 400 vehicles per year, of which 300 are front line vehicles. The Ambulance road fleet travels approximately 35,000,000 kilometres per year; this equals approximately 100,000 kilometres per day.
Our current fleet of vehicles includes*:
Ambulance and Patient Transport Fleet (999)
- 530 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Ambulances
- 10 Volkswagen Crafter Ambulances
- 292 Volkswagen T5 Ambulances
- 70 Toyota Landcruiser Ambulances
- 35 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Patient Transport Vehicles
- 56 Volkswagen Crafter and T5 Patient Transport Vehicles
- 6 Multi Purpose Ambulances
- 4 Beechcraft Super Kingair B200c aircraft (contracted)
- 9 helicopters (contracted)
Single Officer Response Vehicles and Operational Support Fleet (428)
- 47 Clinical Education and Development
- 10 Rescue
- 19 Extended Care Paramedics
- 9 Major Incident Support
- 33 Rapid Response Vehicles
- 253 Marked Support Vehicles
- 50 Inter-Station Relief Transport (mainly rural)
- 5 Air Ambulance support vehicles
- 2 Motorcycles
General Support Vehicles (87)
- 25 Fleet Workshops, including mobile servicing
- 9 Communication Technicians
- 6 Maintenance and Stores
- 47 Miscellaneous, including pool cars and general administration
*as at 1 October 2011
Ambulance Vehicle and Equipment Access Requirements
Ambulance access to buildings and hospitals should provide ample space at entrances and on driveways to set down and pick up patients.
Design criteria
The following factors must be given prime consideration in the design of an ambulance entry.
Ambulance driveways should be exclusive to ambulance vehicles.
Entrance to driveways should indicated with a clear directory sign, which may read, "AMBULANCE ENTRY" or "AMBULANCE ONLY". In some locations the sign may need to be illuminated.
Surfaces to driveways should be smooth but non slip and be without uncovered drainage gutters or speed humps.
Turning circles
Turning circles and clearances to kerbs, existing buildings or other obstructions are for the current largest size of ambulance vehicle which requires a minimum turning circle of 15 metres.
Entrance canopies
The canopy over the entrance is to be large enough to provide ample cover for two paramedics to unload the patient from the rear of the vehicle.
The surface beneath the canopy should be level and non-slip and ideally at the same level as the entrance to the building. Canopies must be clear of the vehicle turning circles and the stretcher handling area.
Height of Canopy
The height of the canopy from finished paved area to the underside should be 3.5 metres (3.2 metres to the underside of any beam).
These dimensions are required to accommodate roof mounted radio aerials.
Download detailed drawings specifying access to hospital ambulance entry.
Vehicle & Stetcher Specifications July 2011