Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
NSW ambos refuse to collect billing info
NSW Paramedics protesting against being slugged an $80 fee for Working With Children checks are refusing to collect patients’ billing information.
March 1, 2018
Paramedics across the state are giving ambulance patients free rides in protest over the NSW government’s order they pay for their own Working With Children checks.
Australian Paramedics Association NSW secretary Steve Pearce says the ban is a protest against the $80 fee, not the check itself.
As of 9pm on Wednesday paramedics stopped collecting billing information from patients transported in ambulances.
“As emergency services first-responders we are not prepared to pay for something that should be covered by employers,” Mr Pearce told AAP.
“Paramedics are really angry, they’re not going to cop this.”
He said 16,000 NSW Police and NSW Fire & Rescue staff had already been granted an exemption from the $80 fee.
Paramedics are required to have their Working With Children checks by the end of the month, but Mr Pearce said he expects up to 60 per cent of officers to refuse.
“On April 1 paramedics will turn up to work as rostered and they’ll have to be stood down. We’re looking at chaos,” he said.
Mr Pearce said although small, the fee was a “slap in the face” to paramedics who regularly work overtime due to staffing issues.
“They’re working long hours past the end of their shifts, they’re not getting their meal breaks and then to hit them with $80 … It’s just not on, they’ve hit the wall and they just won’t pay it,” he said.