The ACT government says it will fund new full-time paramedic roles after a review last year revealed a desperate need for 83 more paramedics to ease pressure on the ambulance service.
The funding for additional paramedics includes 32 new roles, comprising 20 paramedics, six intensive care paramedics, and six operational support positions including ambulance educators, senior ambulance managers, a clinical simulation technician and more staff in the communications centre.
The announcement comes after 15 paramedics were recruited into vacant positions in the ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) in 2026.
However, even with the funding announced on Wednesday, May 20, the service is still short of 54 paramedics required to reach the necessary staffing level according to the ACTAS roster review.
The review published in November 2025, which found night shifts were understaffed an average 96 per cent of the time, also said ACTAS needed additional senior and support staff.
The government has also promised funding for 29 new firefighters to join ACT Fire & Rescue, along with six operational support workers.
The ACT will also invest in an additional recruit college for the 2026-27 period and additional roles including Fire and Rescue commanders.
ACT Fire & Rescue will operate out of the new Molonglo Emergency Services Station, which is expected to open in several months after building was finished in May 2026. The government first said it would undertake preliminary design work for the Molonglo station back in mid-2019, with an opening date in 2026.
Transport Workers Union official Ben Sweaney said the additional staff were very welcome, but still not enough.
"We don't need a plan to tell us what we know, to sustain the roster and crew in Acton and Molongolo we need an additional 140 Officers over two years," he said.
Additionally, 43 operational Emergency Services Agency vehicles will be upgraded and replaced along with two new mechanic roles funded for the government's in-house workshop.
The government is also promising $5 million to modernise the radio and response systems used by emergency services.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Marisa Paterson said she had been in discussions with the Transport Workers Union and ACT Emergency Services on progress to grow a sustainable service.
"This investment in staffing will go a long way to addressing the staffing needs of the roster, but we still have work to do to understand where stations need to be positioned and the priority areas for that," she said.
Meanwhile, ACT Policing staff working with the smell of sewage at City Police Station and others displaced due to flooded offices at Winchester Police Centre are waiting to find out about the future of their workplaces.
Minister Paterson said contract negotiations were ongoing over the potential rebuild or fit out of the city police station.
The last update in October 2025 stated the government was accepting expressions of interest for a police headquarters located in the city centre, near the courts, after the idea was first proposed in 2023.
On Wednesday, the government said it had begun the next stage in the procurement process, and will deliver an initial $3.8 million in its 2026-27 budget to progress a proposal for the new ACT Police Headquarters and City Police Station.
"The new facilities will be situated in the city precinct to ensure strong functional links to ACT Courts, ACT Government buildings and the Australian Federal Police," the statement said.
It added: "New facilities will have modern workspaces to support the health and wellbeing of people, combined with specialist facilities that enable best practice support to victims and responses to crime."
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said the investment recognised the increasing demands being placed on first responders across Canberra.
"In particular, the commitment to progress a new City Police Station and ACT Policing Headquarters is an important step toward delivering modern facilities that support operational policing, victim engagement, member wellbeing and community safety," Mr Caruana said.
The ACT government has committed an initial $3.8 million investment to progress the proposal for the new facilities, which will strengthen operational connectivity between ACT Policing, the courts and other government agencies.
Mr Caruana said frontline police had long operated from ageing infrastructure that no longer reflected the operational realities of modern policing.
"Our members deserve contemporary, fit-for-purpose facilities that support the complex and demanding work they undertake every day.
"Modern policing requires modern infrastructure - not only to improve operational effectiveness, but also to support the health, safety and wellbeing of police and professional staff," Mr Caruana said.
ACT Treasurer Chris Steel said the government was making a deliberate policy decision to fund frontline services and was proud to replace two of the territory's oldest facilities with modern accommodation.
"This funding is a significant investment that will be critical to maintain strong emergency services coverage across Canberra," he said.
