Queensland paramedics to become among the country’s best paid

Queensland’s hard-working paramedics have long been regarded as among the most professional and highly-skilled in the country and a new wage agreement ensures they will now be among the best paid.

The new Queensland Ambulance Service Certified Agreement 2017 has today been certified by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission following Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) enterprise bargaining negotiations.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles said the Agreement included a new classification structure and wage rates for operational staff, including paramedics, medical dispatchers and patient transport officers

“In 2016 the Palaszczuk Government recognised the need to bring QAS officers into alignment with their peers from around the country, which is why we supported an independent remuneration inquiry,” Mr Miles said.

“QAS staff were very interested in the enterprise bargaining negotiations which saw unprecedented participation during a recent ballot.

“More than 84 per cent of eligible staff voted in the ballot, returning an emphatic 98.4% ‘Yes’ vote for the new Agreement.

“The Palaszczuk Government worked quickly throughout this process to help finalise and deliver this important Agreement.

“Our hard-working Queensland paramedics, medical dispatchers and patient transport officers are here for Queenslanders when we are at our worst, so I am pleased to see this well-deserved pay increase implemented.”

QAS Commissioner Russell Bowles said the new Agreement would rightly reflect differences in experience levels, responsibility and complexity in the organisation.

“The vast majority of our operational staff recognised the importance of this Agreement and supported the contemporary classification structure that will enable our move to professional registration in 2018,” Mr Bowles said.

“Everyone involved in this process must be congratulated - we will now be able to implement the new Agreement which will help us meet the challenges of service delivery and demand into the future.”

ENDS

Media contact:             Katharine Wright - 0422 580 342