Transfer of Care Changes

Media Release – Bridget Archer, Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, 11 February 2026

Committed to Delivering the Next Stage of the Transfer of Care Protocol

The Tasmanian Government remains committed to reducing the Transfer of Care Protocol target to 45 minutes and we are actively working with all unions to ensure this occurs as quickly as possible.

Our Transfer of Care Protocol is already working, with more than 89 per cent of ambulances on average over the past week departing the major hospitals within 60 minutes.

Ambulances spent 17,500 fewer hours ramped in 2024-25 when compared to the year before – a reduction of nearly 64 per cent.

This is an outstanding result, and means ambulances are freed up to get back into the community and respond to emergencies sooner, ensuring Tasmanians get the lifesaving care they need, when they need it.

We will continue to work with unions to ensure paramedics spend more time saving lives and patients get life-saving treatment more quickly.

Our Government is delivering for Tasmanians, with the State leading the nation in health investment and employing more healthcare workers than any other State.

Media Release – Sarah Lovell MLC, Shadow Minister for Health, Mental Health & Wellbeing, 12 February 2026

Liberals Forced to Arbitration as Nurses Stop Unsafe Transfer of Care Changes

The Liberal Government’s failure to listen to its health workforce has now been laid bare, with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission formally setting the unsafe transfer of care dispute down for arbitration.

Nurses, supported by doctors, were left with no option but to take the Government to the Commission to stop a proposal to cut emergency department transfer of care times from 60 minutes to 45 minutes.

The Commission has prevented the 45-minute protocol from being rolled out and has accepted the seriousness of the safety concerns raised by nurses and doctors. That is a damning indictment of a government more interested in defending slogans than listening to the people responsible for patient care.

Instead of engaging meaningfully with their workforce, the Liberals have doubled down on slogans and spin, claiming everything is working while the people delivering care every day are warning the system is being pushed beyond safe limits.

This dispute never should have reached the Industrial Commission. It could have been avoided if the Government had been willing to sit down early, listen to legitimate concerns, and work through the issues in good faith.

No one is disputing that ambulance response times matter – they absolutely do. But shaving minutes off a protocol in isolation, without addressing pressures inside hospitals is not a solution. It simply shifts ramping from hospital carparks into emergency departments and corridors.

The Government needs to stop pretending its approach is working, drop the spin, and genuinely engage with its workforce to develop safe, effective solutions that improve patient flow and protect patient and staff safety.

Tasmanians’ lives are on the line. This is not the time for slogans – it’s time for the Minister to listen.