iscover
The new bases, to be built in Port Macquarie, Wagga Wagga and Moruya, will be added to NSW Ambulance’s existing aeromedical network of 12 helicopters and six bases. The funding announced this week is in addition to $126.6 million already invested by the Minns government.
Conducted in partnership with Toll Aviation, the Remotely Piloted Aeromedical Clinical Systems (RPACS) trial was aimed at improving operational speed and safety in remote or hard-to-reach areas, with seven paramedics from critical care and special operations trained to operate the drones.
Announced by NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park, the funding will go to support the RFDS’ continued delivery of “comprehensive health services to rural, regional and remote NSW”.
The new order will bring the total AW139 fleet between LifeFlight and its joint-venture partner StarFlight to 20 by the end of 2027, which the aeromedical organisation says will enhance its capability for EMS, search and rescue, and law enforcement missions.
The agreement, which will last until 2039, will see Toll provide a total of eight aircraft for police, search and rescue, and aeromedical services in the state, including three fixed-wing planes and five helicopters.
Helicopter crews at LifeFlight’s Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Roma, and Brisbane bases recorded 3,534 missions during the year. It follows an all-time high for rescues in the 2023–24 financial year.
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