page_title: Emergency medical services in Australia
section_title: Air ambulance
hierarchical_section_title: Emergency medical services in Australia / Organisation / Air ambulance
caption_attribution_description: English: Australian Helicopters (VH-YXJ), operated for Ambulance Victoria, AgustaWestland AW139 taxiing at Wagga Wagga Airport.
context_page_description: Emergency medical services in Australia are provided by state ambulance services, which are a division of each state or territorial government, and by St John Ambulance in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
context_section_description: Air ambulance service is accomplished in Australia by means of a variety of arrangements and providers.  In New South Wales rescue helicopters are split into two districts with Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Toll Air Ambulance servicing the entire state. The Sydney-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter is solely used for search and rescue taskings. Some states, such as Queensland share air ambulance resources with other public agencies; in the case of Queensland, air ambulance services are primarily provided by Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ Helicopter Rescue) and a mixture of other providers such as RACQ CareFlight, RACQ CQ Rescue, RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue, RACQ NQ Rescue and AGL Action Rescue Helicopter may fill service gaps.  In other states, such as South Australia a mix of service providers, including other emergency services such as the police, continue to operate but medical crews are provided by MedStar, a government entity which provide doctors, nurses and flight paramedics to MAC Rescue (Helicopter) and RFDS (Fixed Wing).  While helicopters provide good service in coastal areas with high population density, in the more sparsely settled interior, distances can be vast, and fixed-wing aircraft are the preferred mode of transport.  In these cases, the statutory ambulance services often operate the aircraft, in cooperation with Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service.
caption: Ambulance Victoria Rescue Helicopter
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