Ambulance Victoria boss Tony Walker has requested an immediate investigation into "distressing" accusations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and bullying of women in the organisation's ranks.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Walker said he and board chair Ken Lay had met with Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton to ask her to start an immediate independent inquiry.
"I want to be very clear that these behaviours and actions have no place in the Ambulance Victoria I lead," the chief executive said.
"They will simply not be tolerated."
Associate Professor Walker praised paramedics for speaking out to The Age, detailing their experiences of workplace sexual abuse, sexism from senior male managers and bullying that led to mental health problems.
"I will provide the VEOHRC (Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission) with every possible assistance and resource to help us stamp out the terrible behaviours that diminish us and to become a better organisation," he said.
"What we have heard today is simply unacceptable."
Four cases of sexual harassment are already under investigation, Mr Walker said.
Danny Hill, secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, said his team had been "bombarded" with complaints, concerns and examples of inappropriate behaviour since posting a bulletin last week.
"It is issues we've known we've had for quite some time," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
"But I don't think we were ready for the sheer number of people that have been coming forward."
Mr Hill said many cited examples centred around occasions when paramedics discussed avenues for career progression into specialised roles, particularly for female members.
"They're forced into some quite humiliating and demeaning conversations," he said.
"In many instances, they've been asked 'are you going to be a good paramedic or are you going to be a good parent? You can't do both'.
"It extends from anything from eye-rolling behaviour, right up to people being forced to go and get a medical certificate in order to justify the need to breastfeed their child and to have a roster arrangement that allows them to breastfeed the child."
He said the conduct had, to an extent, become "normalised" and members hadn't spoken up until now because they didn't feel supported.
The ambulance union boss believes the commission is well suited to handling an external investigation after its review into sex discrimination and sexual harassment at Victoria Police.
Associate Professor Walker admitted Ambulance Victoria had been addressing some "deep cultural challenges" in recent years.
"It is distressing to hear that despite all this work, there are still colleagues who don't feel safe or respected," he said.
"Today this stops."
Health Minister Martin Foley expects to be briefed on the situation by Ambulance Victoria and workplace representatives in the near future.
"This government has a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to sexual harassment and bullying, and unacceptable behaviour in any workplace, particularly public sector workplaces," he said.
AAP has approached the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for comment.
