Emergency Ambulance Service Fees

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that access to emergency ambulance services is a critical health service;

2. Notes that the cost of an emergency ambulance service is $1,171, plus a per kilometre fee of $6.70;

3. Recognises that the cost of an emergency ambulance service is more than the fortnightly rate for a single full age pension;

4. Acknowledges that South Australia is the only jurisdiction in the nation that does not provide free emergency ambulance services to people on the full age pension:

5. Notes that emergency ambulance services are free for all residents in Queensland and Tasmania;

6. Notes that COTA SA is calling on the state government to provide free emergency ambulance services for all older South Australians on a full age pension; and

7. Calls on the Malinauskas government to waive the cost of emergency ambulance services for all full age pensioners in their upcoming budget.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:38): 

I rise today to support the Hon. Robert Simms' motion calling on the Malinauskas Labor Government to waive the cost of emergency ambulance services for all full age pensioners in the 2025-26 budget. As someone with ageing family members who have underlying health issues, I understand the stress and anxiety that so many members of our community feel when they consider what might happen if they ever need to call for an ambulance in an emergency.

For too many South Australians, the cost of an emergency ambulance service makes them pause and weigh up whether they can afford to make that call when they need emergency medical attention. For older South Australians, who are more likely to require urgent medical attention and are also greatly impacted by ever-increasing cost-of-living pressures, the financial burden of paying for ambulance insurance or ambulance services is often simply too much.

I am grateful that my family members have private health insurance that covers ambulance services, but many of the most vulnerable people in our community are not in that position. Rising energy costs over the last decade, and the latest cost-of-living burden, escalating insurance premiums for home and car, all leave age pensioners on a fixed income with very little left over in their household budget.

Making ends meet on a fixed age pension is hard enough as it is, and an unexpected bill for an ambulance call-out that costs more than the fortnightly rate for a single full age pension would tip many over the edge into financial distress. It should not be this way. I note that other jurisdictions such as Queensland and Tasmania provide free emergency ambulance services for all residents, but in South Australia we have the second highest fees in the country and we are the only state that does not provide free emergency ambulance services for those on a full age pension.

Only yesterday, as was reported in The Advertiser, Reeva Brice, an 84-year-old age pensioner, had to pay a $1,200 bill for a three-kilometre ambo ride after fainting. It demonstrated a real-life scenario of why this motion should be supported. I want to thank COTA SA for their strong advocacy on this issue and for highlighting the significant impact that free access to critical health services would have on vulnerable older South Australians.

The Malinauskas Labor Government has the opportunity to make substantial difference in the lives and wellbeing of vulnerable older South Australians by waiving the cost of emergency ambulance services for all South Australians on a full age pension in line with the other Australian jurisdictions. I thank the honourable member for moving this motion and I fully commend it to the chamber.