Current data indicates that gender inequality within Ambulance Victoria is shaped by structural and cultural factors. Women are underrepresented in senior leadership roles, which is a key reason why the pay gap exists.
Ambulance Victoria’s base salary pay gap has worsened (from 9.9% to 10.5%). Women workers at Ambulance Victoria earn roughly 10% less than men and would need to work 13 months to earn what men earn in 12.
For total pay, the gap has improved slightly (from 15.1% to 14.7%) but the gap is still larger than the base salary gap.
Women working at Ambulance Victoria earn roughly 15% less overall, meaning they need to work roughly 14 months to match 12 months of men’s pay.
While the median gap is low at 1.8%, the reality is that the overall pay gap is being driven by senior roles where the gap has significantly increased from 9.4% to 28.3%. This shows that inequality is concentrated at the top of Ambulance Victoria.
United Workers Union (UWU) members’ expectations for Ambulance Victoria’s next Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) is that the plan deliver clear, enforceable commitments that achieve tangible outcomes for women at AV.
Ambulance Victoria’s proposed GEAP presented to UWU on 25 March 2026 relies on non-accountable measures such as additional research, awareness campaigns, and internal education initiatives.
UWU members seek to ensure that the GEAP holds measurable actions that can address structural inequities and deliver outcomes for women.
Achieving equity at Ambulance Victoria will require:
– Targets tied to accountability
– Systemic reforms to remove barriers for women
– Active leadership from men to improve workplace culture and behaviours
UWU’s position is that gender equality is not solely a women’s issue. It requires organisational ownership, with a focus on leadership and workforce groups where current imbalances are most prevalent, such as within the Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) unit.
The following priorities for inclusion into the Ambulance Victoria GEAP were shared with AV:
– Set Targets for Increased Participation in MICA
– Set Targets for Gender Balance within Identified Areas Appendix B Benchmark data (2021-2025)
– Conduct a Pay Equity Assessment of Roles of Equal or Comparable Value
– Develop Initiatives to Upskill Women through Mentoring
– Develop and Implement an EDI Contact Officer Program
– Build Male Leaders Who Champion Workplace Behaviours
– Establish Formal MICA Mentoring Program
– Increase Secondary Carers Leave
– Develop a Reasonable Adjustments Policy
– Review and Reform Dispatch Practices
– Pilot Shared Workforce Models
– Mandatory Training for Senior Leaders on Barriers Face by Women
– Implement Solutions to Rostering FWAs in MICA
– Decentralise MICA Training
– Ensure MICA Stream One Funding