- The Crisafulli Government is introducing a new Queensland Health paramedic role, allowing paramedics to deliver care in hospitals and health services across Queensland's most remote communities.
- Experienced paramedics will be able to use their skillset to provide more health care across remote health services, to combat workforce shortages left by Labor.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering easier access to health services after a decade of decline under Labor.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering easier access to health services with experienced paramedics set to be able to work in remote hospitals and health services from April – an Australian-first initiative.
The new Remote Hospitals Paramedic role will take effect from 1 April 2026 in Queensland's most remote towns, strengthening frontline care and supporting local health services to respond to workforce shortages in rural and remote communities left by Labor.
When Remote Hospitals Paramedics are not responding to emergencies in the community, they will be able to work collaboratively alongside doctors, nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers to deliver more care closer to home.
Under the new model, these paramedics will deliver both primary and emergency care in Queensland Health's remote health services including hospitals, general practices, residential aged care facilities, and primary health care clinics.
The first Queensland Health Remote Hospitals Paramedics are expected to commence mid-year.
The nation-leading initiative responds directly to findings from the Crisafulli Government's Workforce Gap Analysis, which highlighted the depth of the health workforce crisis inherited after a decade of decline under Labor.
The Analysis revealed that 72 per cent of workforce growth over the past 10 years occurred primarily in metropolitan areas, while rural and remote Queensland was left facing mounting shortages. Although the Analysis found no workforce gaps for Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics in South Queensland, it showed challenges persisted in attracting and retaining paramedics in rural and remote communities under conventional workforce models.
The Remote Hospitals Paramedics role is part of the Crisafulli Government's broader work to strengthen the health workforce, including:
- The rollout of Hospital Based Ambulances across rural Queensland where local health staff and volunteers are now being provided a proper ambulance, life-saving equipment, and training, instead of relying on non-ambulance vehicles to respond to emergencies
- Axing Labor's GP payroll tax within the first month of government
- Introducing a $24 million GP Trainee Incentive to support the next generation of doctors and strengthen the GP pipeline
- Rolling out a $6.8 million Single Employer Model pilot to improve GP distribution in rural and remote areas
- Expanding regional GP access to specialist advice through a $6.4 million investment, reducing the need for patients to travel for care.
- Changing regulations to allow Queensland GPs to diagnose and treat adults with ADHD, improving access to important treatment and reducing long travel times for rural patients.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said the Crisafulli Government was delivering easier access to health services for all Queenslanders.
"These targeted reforms are about fixing a system left under strain after a decade of neglect under Labor, and restoring easier access to health services for rural, regional and remote Queenslanders,' Minister Nicholls said. "Traditional workforce models alone are not meeting the needs of our most remote communities, which is why we are backing new and flexible ways of delivering care.
"The nation-leading Paramedic, Remote Hospitals model will give remote hospitals and health services greater flexibility to respond to local health needs and workforce challenges, and ultimately, improve access to care. "Paramedics are highly trained clinicians with strong skills in assessment and acute care, and those skills are incredibly valuable in remote hospitals and clinics where clinicians must manage a wide range of health presentations."
