Effective management of unplanned leave and overtime is critical to sustaining service delivery, financial viability and employee wellbeing in public sector emergency and corrective services agencies. These agencies operate in high risk, 24-hour environments and minimum staffing must be maintained to ensure continuity of services and time-critical emergency responses.

Agencies face limitations on the total number of staff they can employ. When unplanned leave occurs, such as sick leave, carers leave and workers compensation leave, it creates immediate gaps in staffing. These gaps often need to be filled by paying existing staff overtime. Since minimum staffing levels are required for safety and industrial reasons, some overtime is unavoidable to maintain operational readiness and capacity for immediate response.

However, heavy reliance on overtime introduces financial and workforce risks. Excessive overtime can strain agency budgets and heighten fatigue related safety risks, particularly in operational environments where fatigue affects judgement and reaction time. Agencies are required to identify and manage these risks under work health and safety obligations.

This audit assessed whether Corrective Services NSW, Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW Ambulance are effectively and efficiently managing unplanned leave and overtime. Our assessment was made with reference to the following questions:

• Do agencies have clearly defined operating policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms for managing unplanned leave and overtime?
• Do agencies collect, analyse and report accurate and timely data on unplanned leave and overtime to inform decision-making?
• Have agencies implemented effective workforce planning, work design strategies and initiatives to reduce unplanned leave and overtime?

The audit does not comment on policy decisions of the NSW Government.

Corrective Services NSW

Corrective Services NSW has clearly defined operating policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms to effectively manage unplanned leave and overtime. It is unable to demonstrate efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime due to outdated staffing formulas, limited relief staffing and rostering practices that contribute to a sustained reliance on overtime.

Established policies, procedures and accountability arrangements support the effective and efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime. Structured systems are also in place to monitor attendance, leave and overtime data. However, workforce planning and rostering practices have not reduced reliance on overtime or adequately mitigated associated fatigue risks. Two targeted workforce planning initiatives have been implemented at several centres, but these have not yet reduced major drivers of unplanned leave and overtime across the agency.

Fire and Rescue NSW

Fire and Rescue NSW has clearly defined operating policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms to effectively manage unplanned leave and overtime. It is unable to demonstrate efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime due to persistent on‑call workforce shortages, inadequate relief staffing and rostering practices that contribute to a sustained reliance on overtime.

Established policies, procedures and accountability arrangements support the effective and efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime. Structured systems are also in place to monitor attendance, leave and overtime trends and provide executive oversight. However, workforce planning and rostering practices have not reduced reliance on overtime or adequately mitigated associated fatigue risks. Persistent on-call staff shortages continue to be a major constraint on reducing overtime. Although a range of workforce initiatives have been introduced, slow implementation means these measures have not yet reduced the major drivers of overtime.

NSW Ambulance

NSW Ambulance has clearly defined operating policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms to effectively manage unplanned leave and overtime. It is unable to demonstrate efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime due to work design and rostering practices that contribute to a sustained reliance on overtime.

Established policies, procedures and accountability arrangements support the effective and efficient management of unplanned leave and overtime. Structured systems are also in place to monitor attendance, leave and overtime trends, providing executive oversight. Workforce planning practices have contributed to reducing overtime, but NSW Ambulance still relies on overtime due to condensed shift patterns and work design. The combination of condensed shift patterns, missed meal breaks, frequently extended shifts and on-call arrangements requires NSW Ambulance to take various actions to manage fatigue risks. NSW Ambulance is implementing workforce enhancement programs that are helping to lessen dependence on on-call arrangements.

By April 2027, Corrective Services NSW should:

1. undertake preparatory work to determine whether its current rostering and shift patterns, including the mix of 8 and 12-hour shifts and the use of double shifts, remain an efficient and sustainable model, and to lay the groundwork for a future roster trial by:
   1. reviewing current rostering practices to identify elements that contribute to overtime pressures and fatigue risks
   2. developing alternate roster options that address the limitations identified through the review
   3. designing the framework for a future trial, including selection criteria for trial sites and measures to assess impacts on overtime, staffing flexibility and fatigue risks.
2. review and update its staffing formula to reflect current operational requirements, including accounting for workers compensation leave, to reduce reliance on overtime
3. review and update sick leave policies to ensure they are current and consistently applied, with clearer manager guidance, improved accountability through centralised oversight, and early intervention when individual staff exceed thresholds
4. conduct formal evaluation of initiatives such as Dedicated Medical Escort Units and the Return to Work Pilot, ensuring they are properly resourced to achieve lasting reductions in overtime.

By April 2027, Fire and Rescue NSW should:

5. undertake preparatory work to determine whether its current rostering and shift patterns, including the default 10/14 roster, the alternate 24-hour shift arrangement and the use of overtime, remain an efficient and sustainable model, and to lay the groundwork for a future roster trial by:
   1. reviewing current rostering practices to identify elements that contribute to overtime pressures and fatigue risks
   2. developing alternate roster options that address the limitations identified through the review
   3. designing the framework for a future trial, including selection criteria for trial sites and measures to assess impacts on overtime, staffing flexibility and fatigue risks.
6. review and update the permanent firefighter relief staffing model to reflect changing patterns of leave, unavailability and service demand, to reduce reliance on overtime
7. ensure consistent application of the policies for the management of sick and unplanned leave, with clearer manager guidance, improved accountability through centralised oversight and early intervention when individual staff exceed thresholds
8. undertake detailed analyses of its workforce and service delivery models, including the on-call model, and propose options to address structural issues impacting staffing availability and operational coverage, in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

By April 2027, NSW Ambulance should:

9. undertake preparatory work to determine whether its current rostering and shift patterns, including consecutive 12-hour shifts, extended shifts, on-call practices and the use of overtime, remain an efficient and sustainable model, and to lay the groundwork for a future roster trial by:
   1. reviewing current rostering practices to identify elements that contribute to overtime pressures and fatigue risks
   2. developing alternate roster options that address the limitations identified through the review
   3. designing the framework for a future trial, including selection criteria for trial sites and measures to assess impacts on overtime, staffing flexibility and fatigue risks
10. review and update the paramedic relief rate to reflect changing patterns of leave, unavailability and service demand across different locations, ensuring sufficient relief staff to reduce reliance on overtime
11. complete the rollout of central dashboards displaying real-time data on leave, overtime and rostering to give managers clearer oversight and support proactive staffing decisions that minimise overtime
12. continue to monitor, evaluate and progressively refine the rollout of initiatives, such as transitioning on-call stations to 24-hour rosters and the On Duty Relief Model trial, to ensure they are delivering overall cost savings, reduced reliance on overtime and improved service outcomes.

Corrective Services NSW is responsible for overseeing community and custodial correctional services. Correctional officers supervise inmates housed in facilities such as prisons and court cells throughout NSW. Their role involves regular interaction with inmates to maintain the safety and security of these environments.

Fire and Rescue NSW delivers prevention and emergency response services throughout both urban and regional communities. The Fire and Rescue NSW operational workforce is divided into permanent and on-call/retained firefighters. Permanent firefighters are full-time employees and staff a station 24-hours, 7-days a week. These stations are primarily based in metropolitan areas and major regional centres. On-call/retained firefighters are considered part-time employees, who nominate their availability and are contacted to attend the station to respond when there is an incident. They generally serve regional locations.

NSW Ambulance is a frontline health service that provides both emergency and non-emergency medical care and transport to patients throughout NSW, often in urgent and high-pressure situations. Paramedics at NSW Ambulance are trained in specialised medical procedures to treat injuries, save lives, and operate ambulance vehicles and equipment.

Notes:

¹  Fire and Rescue NSW overtime expenses include overtime payments for permanent firefighters, payments for on-call firefighters who cover shortages of on-call firefighters at a station other than their own, and travel allowances for permanent and on-call firefighters covering shortages of on-call firefighters.

²  NSW Ambulance overtime expenses include payments made to paramedics for extension of shift overtime, drop shift overtime, call out overtime and special event overtime. It also includes payments made to paramedics for missed or interrupted meal breaks.

Source: Audit Office analysis based on Corrective Services NSW data, Fire and Rescue NSW data, NSW Ambulance data.

Staff are entitled to several leave benefits, such as annual, parental and long service leave, which are usually planned ahead. Personal leave is available for unexpected situations like illness or caring for a family member. Workers compensation leave is provided for those injured at work. Both personal and workers compensation leave often occur with little or no warning.

Attendance can be disrupted by health issues, caring duties, personal emergencies, secondary employment or disengagement. Frequent unplanned leave can signal broader organisational challenges, such as poor work health and safety (WHS) management, negative workplace culture or weak controls over leave entitlements. Identifying these factors is key to managing unplanned leave and ensuring reliable service delivery.

Overtime occurs when staff work beyond their standard rostered hours and are paid at higher rates, often up to double the base wage. Overtime may be required when staff stay past their normal finishing time or cover shifts outside their usual roster. Additional penalties or allowances may apply depending on when the work is performed and eligibility is set out in the relevant industrial Award.

Emergency service and custodial correctional agencies rely on minimum staffing levels to ensure staff and community safety. While planned absences can usually be managed, unplanned leave due to illness or emergencies places immediate pressure on workforce management. When there are not enough relieving or casual staff to fill gaps, agencies recall existing employees to work overtime, increasing workforce strain and operational costs. These pressures are greater in regional and remote locations where vacancies are harder to fill.

Amongst other factors, excessive overtime, extended hours and irregular shifts increase fatigue risks. Fatigue affects concentration, reaction time and judgement, raising the likelihood of work‑related injuries or illnesses. Agencies have obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to identify and control fatigue‑related risks (Exhibit 1).

Source: SafeWork NSW Code of Practice (2026) – Managing the risk of fatigue at work.

Overview

Corrective Services NSW is responsible for managing custodial correctional services. While this audit focuses on the custodial environment, it is important to note that Corrective Services NSW also oversees corporate functions, Community Corrections (including community residential facilities), the Corrective Services NSW Academy, the Court Escort Security Unit and the Security Operations Group. Each of these areas operates under separate staffing arrangements. These functions were excluded from this audit because they do not operate 24 hours a day or have mandatory staffing requirements.

As at 30 June 2025, Corrective Services NSW employed 8,468 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, with 5,647 FTE assigned to correctional centres, 2,005 to Community Corrections, 659 to the Court Escort Security Unit and 157 to Security Operations Group. At this time, there were 34 correctional centres across the state, organised into 5 regions, each containing between 6 and 8 centres. Staffing levels differed significantly between centres, with FTE staff numbers at individual facilities ranging from 31 to 578.

As at December 2025, the adult prison population was 13,133. This represents an increase of 1,026 people, or 8.5%, since December 2023. Although the total number remains below pre-pandemic levels, the prison population has grown steadily over the past 2 years. The main factor contributing to this growth was a rise in the remand population, which increased by 1,016 people (20.1%) to a record high of 6,081. By December 2025, individuals on remand accounted for 46% of the adult prison population. Remand inmates are generally more challenging to manage than sentenced inmates.

Minimum staffing levels and roster patterns

Corrective Services NSW is required, under its industrial agreements, to ensure that every position in each correctional centre is filled. Minimum staffing levels, known as the post structure, are determined by correctional centre management using benchmarking principles. Centres are categorised into one of 4 bands, based on their activity levels and workload indicators. The band assigned to each centre sets its staffing benchmark. These benchmarks can be fixed, such as specifying a set number of positions for centres in a particular band, or variable, such as allocating a certain number of staff per number of inmates for specific activities.

Custodial staff work either 8-hour, 12-hour or a mix of 8-hour and 12-hour shifts depending on the centre. There are 15 correctional centres operating a full 8-hour shift model, 8 use a mix of 8-hour and 12-hour shifts (known as a hybrid model), and 5 use a full 12-hour shift model. While there is no standard shift pattern used across all centres, limits apply to the maximum number of consecutive shifts staff may work within a 28-day roster period.

Permanent and casual staff receive penalty rates in addition to their base salary for night shifts, weekend shifts or public holiday shifts. Overtime is paid at time and a half for the first 2 hours worked and at double time for any additional hours from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, overtime is paid at double time, and on public holidays overtime is paid at double time and a half.

Trends in unplanned leave

In 2025, custodial correctional officers averaged 100.6 hours of sick leave, a decrease from 108.2 hours in 2024. The average amount of workers compensation leave taken in 2025 was 212.5 hours, an increase from 182.0 hours in 2024.

Figure 1 below shows that uniformed correctional officers were more likely to take sick leave during Monday to Friday, with a much lower number of leave days taken on Saturdays and Sundays. It is important to note that correctional officers are eligible for penalty rates when working shifts on Saturdays and Sundays.

Frontline management of unplanned leave and overtime

Managers actively review and address concerns about employee sick leave through meetings and formal counselling to ensure compliance and to support staff wellbeing

Corrective Services NSW require managers to hold review meetings when concerns arise about an employee’s sick leave levels or patterns. These guidelines outline the purpose of the meetings and provide supporting materials for managers to use. However, the sick leave policy, business rules and guidelines have not been updated since 2014, which means they may no longer reflect current systems or processes. Corrective Services NSW has advised it is updating the policy.

Managers may initiate a review when staff take repeated unsupported sick leave, accumulate higher levels of sick leave, show questionable patterns of absence or are away for extended periods. Questionable patterns include absences around rostered days off, frequent absences on unpopular shifts or leave taken after an earlier request was denied. Review meetings help determine whether there are reasonable grounds for absences and identify any workplace adjustments or support that may be required.

If concerns persist after a review, managers may begin formal counselling. Counselling clarifies the reasons for continued non‑compliance, sets expectations and outlines consequences. These may include performance management, referral for a health assessment, changes to working hours or disciplinary action. Counselling also addresses cases where employees do not follow notification requirements or fail to act on previous agreements.

In 2025, Corrective Services NSW recorded 3,421 centre-based custodial staff who had more than 10 instances of unplanned leave. Of these, 1,305 staff members underwent informal counselling, 215 received formal counselling and 16 were referred to the government medical officer for further assessment.

HR business partners actively support functional managers by providing guidance, resources and training to manage unplanned leave, and strengthen operational staffing practices

Functional managers are central to maintaining day‑to‑day staffing. They oversee rosters, identify immediate staffing shortages and request support from the Operations Scheduling Unit. They also monitor staff with high sick leave usage or on workers compensation and maintain local records to support decision‑making.

HR business partners play a key role in preventing attendance issues from escalating. They meet monthly with senior centre managers to review staff with rising unplanned leave and advise on appropriate next steps.

To strengthen managers’ capability, HR has developed guidance and training materials to support effective conversations about sick leave. These resources help managers apply procedures consistently and communicate expectations more clearly, reducing the risk of disputes and improving how unplanned absences are managed.

The Operational Scheduling Unit processes sick leave applications centrally in line with policy, but a lack of automatic alerts increases manual workload

The Operations Scheduling Unit processes sick leave notifications and applications in the Workforce Management System. The system does not automatically flag when a medical certificate is required, which increases risks that scheduling officers don’t meet this requirement.

The sick leave policy requires correctional officers to notify the Operations Scheduling Unit of any absence as early as possible and submit a leave application when they return to duty. A medical certificate is required for absences longer than 2 days or when an officer accumulates 5 unsupported sick leave days in a year.

Scheduling clerks check that leave applications align with recorded absences, confirm that staff have sufficient leave balances and ensure the correct documentation is provided. They then forward applications for approval. Clerks review pending leave requests every fortnight. Leave is converted to unauthorised absence without pay if an application is not submitted within 28 days of the absence, or after 56 days if the required documentation is not provided or explanations are not satisfactory.

The Operations Scheduling Unit does not have an automatic alert for when a correctional officer is likely to exceed limits on the number of overtime shifts

Corrective Services NSW uses a structured rostering model and a tiered vacancy‑filling process to maintain staffing levels. However, it does not have a clear policy or system alerts to help managers or staff assess fatigue when deciding whether to allocate overtime shifts.

The P28 post structure is a table which displays staffing requirements for each function in a centre and informs the daily roster. Centre managers use the P28 to ensure correctional centres are rostered with the appropriate number of staff for each function. When vacancies arise, the Operations Scheduling Unit fills shifts according to the Commissioner’s Memorandum, which prioritises casual staff before overtime.

Business rules allow officers working 8‑hour rosters to work up to 7 overtime shifts a fortnight, taking total fortnightly hours up to 132. This exceeds the SafeWork NSW threshold identified as higher risk for fatigue (110 hours per fortnight). Corrective Services NSW does not have a mechanism to determine in advance whether an officer is likely to exceed overtime limits and it does not monitor when those limits have been exceeded.

Operations Scheduling Unit staff receive a system alert when filling an overtime shift that results in a rest break of less than 8 hours between shifts. This is less than the SafeWork NSW threshold identified as higher risk for fatigue of at least 12 hours between shifts.

Before accepting an overtime shift, staff are expected to self‑assess their fitness for duty. This control does not adequately address the increased risk of fatigue, as it depends solely on staff monitoring and reporting their own fatigue levels.

Oversight and monitoring

Central compliance monitoring promotes consistency in sick leave management

Corrective Services NSW uses a sick leave tracker tool that requires managers to identify and record any leave taken outside of policy, monitor attendance patterns, and document the actions and outcomes related to each case. The Corrective Services NSW Security and Custody Assistant Commissioners Office (both regional and metropolitan) oversee the tracker to ensure all centres comply with established policies and data remains up to date. Each month, the Assistant Commissioners’ Offices send compliance reports to centre management to reinforce the importance of following the process.

In addition to regular reporting, DCJ Human Resources conduct ad hoc reviews to see how frequently individual correctional centres access and update the sick leave tracker, which helps gauge policy compliance at each site. While this systematic approach improves oversight and promotes consistency in sick leave management, the process can be undermined if regular data updates are not maintained, leading to gaps or inconsistencies in the information recorded. Corrective Services NSW reports that it is reviewing and improving the use and consistency of information in the sick leave tracker tool.

Senior management maintains oversight through regular dashboard reporting and scheduled management meetings

Senior management oversight is critical to managing unplanned leave and overtime in Corrective Services NSW, because these pressures directly affect operational capacity and staff safety. To support this oversight, the agency relies on regular reporting and a structured schedule of management meetings that highlight emerging workforce risks and allow leaders to act early.

Corrective Services NSW use dashboards and scheduled executive, regional and metropolitan meetings to monitor trends in sick leave, workers compensation leave and overtime. Monthly dashboards provide leadership with clear comparisons across centres, helping them identify patterns and performance shifts over time. These reports are discussed directly with senior decision‑makers, reinforcing accountability for managing attendance and staffing pressures.

At the local level, correctional centre managers use the Workforce Management System to track factors such as absences, overtime usage and pending leave applications. This reporting allows managers to spot operational risks early and seek advice from the Operations Scheduling Unit where needed.

Despite these monitoring controls, isolated cases remain where individual staff members work exceptionally high amounts of overtime over a year. For instance, in 2025, 10 employees across Corrective Services NSW earned an average of $154,600 in overtime. The agency suggested this could be due to factors such as location, role type or specific capabilities, but has not conducted detailed analysis to understand the specific causes or identify measures to prevent recurrence in future years.

Workforce planning and rostering

Rostering practices that include up to 6 consecutive night shifts do not meet SafeWork NSW’s recommended guidelines for managing fatigue risks

Standard cyclic shift roster patterns used in Corrective Services NSW centres increase the risk of fatigue among custodial officers, which can undermine safety in these high-risk environments. When officers are fatigued, their alertness is reduced, making it harder to respond quickly to unexpected violence and increasing their vulnerability to injuries from inmate assaults.

The rostering rules set patterns for both 8‑hour and 12‑hour shifts, including limits on consecutive shifts and required rest periods. Corrective Services NSW roster patterns for centres with 8-hour shifts include 6 consecutive night shifts, while roster patterns for centres with 12-hour shifts include 4 consecutive night shifts. These both exceed SafeWork NSW guidelines, which identify more than 3 consecutive night shifts as placing staff at a higher risk of fatigue.

Corrective Services NSW uses the DCJ fatigue management procedure to guide its management of fatigue. The procedure notes that it is the responsibility of individual staff to monitor and assess their fitness for duty. The procedure also outlines control measures to mitigate fatigue, however, the controls are not specific to the custodial environment and many are not relevant options for corrections officers to utilise.

There are 8 correctional centres that use a hybrid of 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. Staff on 12-hour shifts work a combination of day and night shifts. Staff on 8-hour shifts work only day shifts. This can lead to reduced flexibility in backfilling shift types.

The ‘195 staffing formula’ does not account for all leave types, leading to an increased reliance on overtime when staff are unavailable for work

Corrective Services NSW’s 195 staffing formula has not been updated since 2015, despite changes to leave entitlements. The formula no longer reflects the actual availability of correctional officers. Inaccurate staffing assumptions can lead to greater reliance on overtime, putting pressure on both workforce capability and service delivery.

The formula estimates staff availability by deducting weekends, rostered days off, various types of leave and training days from the total days in a year, resulting in an assumed 195 working days. However, it does not account for expanded leave provisions, including enhanced parental leave or workers compensation leave.

Correctional centre managers reported that these omissions mean the formula overstates how many days officers can work. This creates a need to use overtime when there is not enough staff to meet minimum levels.

Although casual staff are prioritised to fill vacancies, spending on casual staff remains much lower than the amount spent on overtime

Corrective Services NSW employs about 250 casual correctional officers to help cover unplanned absences and reduce reliance on overtime. However, given a total workforce of 5,647 FTE correctional officers, this small casual pool offers limited scope to support widespread coverage across centres. Recruiting and retaining casual staff is also challenging, and their typically short tenure increases training costs because they must complete the same 12‑week full‑time program as permanent officers.

Casual officers can select which centres and shifts they are prepared to work. When a staffing vacancy occurs, casual officers are contacted first, with preference given to those who have completed the fewest hours. Although the rostering system prioritises casual staff, the overall spending on casual officers remains low compared to the total overtime costs. This suggests there are not enough casual staff available to substantially reduce the reliance on overtime (Table 3 below).

Source: Audit Office analysis based on data from Corrective Services NSW.

Initiatives to reduce unplanned leave and overtime

The Return to Work program aims to address significant contributor to overtime costs

Corrective Services NSW launched a Return to Work pilot in March 2024 to improve recovery outcomes for injured officers, reduce time away from work and limit overtime costs linked to workers compensation leave. The pilot was prompted by a 53% rise in workers compensation premiums for 2024–25.

This pilot began at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre and the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, selected because of their higher incidence of injuries in 2022–23. It focused on strengthening early intervention and support for injured staff and on building safer workplaces. Key goals included:

• tailoring recovery pathways around the 5 pillars of wellbeing (physical, emotional, financial, career, social)
• strengthening injury prevention through targeted investigation and incident management
• testing innovative practices to injury management
• analysing incident trends to inform future programs and initiatives.

To support staff on site, each centre was assigned 2 dedicated officers at the rank of Senior Assistant Superintendent. A workplace safety contact led incident investigations, ensured accurate recording of incidents and monitored trends. A worker recovery contact maintained ongoing communication with injured workers, participated in case conferences, and coordinated with the Injury Management Team to identify duties that supported a safe and timely return to work. Both roles underwent a 3-week specialised training program, which included in-person sessions delivered by DCJ experts.

In 2025 DCJ evaluated the pilot and found several positive outcomes, including stronger safety practices, higher rates of completed investigations and improved staff experience, with employees reporting much greater satisfaction with the workers compensation support. Financial impacts and outcomes for workers were also positive, including average days off work decreased by 11.6 days, creating an estimated annual overtime saving of $1.2 million and a return of $1.60 for every $1 spent.

The evaluation recommended a phased rollout across the state and warned that continuing previous approaches to incident and injury management would likely lead to poorer investigation quality and weaker return‑to‑work results. Corrective Services NSW plans to expand the Return to Work model to all correctional centres in NSW. Twenty correctional centres have now implemented the model, with plans to expand to an additional 13 correctional centres.

Corrective Services NSW is developing an ‘over establishment’ strategy to reduce reliance on overtime for backfilling staff positions

Corrective Services NSW currently relies on overtime to cover staff who are away on long‑term leave because it cannot appoint permanent replacements while those staff remain on the payroll. To reduce this dependence on overtime, the agency is developing an over‑establishment approach that would allow it to temporarily employ additional staff and place the absent employee’s position in a separate cost centre. This would help maintain staffing levels and support more stable operations.

When an employee on long‑term leave returns, both the returning employee and the temporarily employed staff member would hold the same role for a period, until an ongoing position becomes available for the new staff member. Corrective Services NSW is preparing a proposal to seek government approval to implement this strategy.

The over establishment strategy includes specific eligibility criteria. For over establishment of a position to occur, it must either:

• facilitate the return to pre-injury duties for an employee on long term workers compensation who is unable to return to their substantive location, or
• fill a long term vacancy for a non-commissioned officer role, therefore reducing the cost to backfill with overtime.

Dedicated Medical Escort Units reduce need for centre lockdowns and overtime costs

Correctional officers are responsible for accompanying inmates to hospital or other medical appointments outside the correctional centres. These medical escort duties require staff to cover vacant positions left behind, which creates staffing pressures and leads to increased overtime. Since escort requirements are not included in the centre’s staffing structure, current staffing levels do not accurately reflect the resources required to maintain full coverage during these escorts. In 2025, there were 515 centre lockdowns caused by the need for medical escorts. That year, medical and hospital escorts contributed to approximately $12.8 million in overtime costs.

To address these pressures, Corrective Services NSW has created dedicated Medical Escort Units at Long Bay, Silverwater and Cessnock. These centres were selected due to their high demand for escorts and proximity to hospitals. By assigning staff specifically to manage medical escorts, these units help reduce disruption to normal operations and limit the overtime needed to backfill posts.

Medical escorts are required for a range of health needs, including routine and urgent appointments, emergency treatment, and both planned and unplanned hospital admissions (noting these medicinal needs are determined by Justice Health). Each escort requires at least 2 officers, with extra staff added when risk assessments deem it necessary.

Overview

Fire and Rescue NSW delivers preventive and emergency response services throughout both urban and regional communities. The Fire and Rescue NSW workforce is divided into permanent firefighters and on-call firefighters. Permanent firefighters are full-time employees primarily based in metropolitan areas and major regional centres. On-call firefighters are also professionally trained and ready to respond when needed, mainly serving regional locations where emergency incidents occur less frequently.

As at 30 June 2025, Fire and Rescue NSW employed a total of 7,424 staff, including 22 executives, 3,667 permanent firefighters, 3,191 on-call firefighters, and 544 administrative and trades staff. Across NSW, there are 335 fire stations, with 97 staffed by permanent firefighters, 200 by on-call firefighters in regional areas and 38 operating with a mix of both staffing models. Fire and Rescue NSW structures its operations through 7 Area Commands, each subdivided into 3 zones containing between 11 and 21 stations, providing coverage and support across both busy metropolitan centres and regional communities.

Over 2024–25, Fire and Rescue NSW responded to 143,926 incidents, comprising 21,351 fires and explosions, and 122,575 other emergencies and incidents. This marks an increase of 13,369, or 10.2%, since 2022–23. Fire and Rescue NSW has also increased its community safety and engagement activities, rising from 19,484 in 2022–23 to 39,715 in 2024–25, an increase of 103.8%.

Minimum staffing levels and roster patterns

Permanent firefighters are mainly based in metropolitan and major regional centres. Their usual roster requires them to work two 24-hour shifts in a 72-hour period, followed by 5 days off. On-call firefighters, who are mostly stationed in regional areas, must nominate at least 24 hours of availability each week. This availability can be spread across different days and times as suits their schedule. In addition to attending incidents as needed, on-call firefighters also take part in regular training drills.

All fire stations must always have enough staff to ensure emergency responses are carried out safely. The minimum number of permanent and on-call firefighters required at each station is set out in the Permanent Firefighting Staff Award and the Retained (on-call) Firefighting Staff Award and depends on the types of appliances (firefighting vehicles) at that station and the specialist skills needed to operate them. Some roles require additional training, including specialised response capabilities or qualifications to drive particular vehicles.

If a permanent station does not have enough permanent firefighters on duty to meet these minimum staffing levels, the agency replaces them with a reliever or recalls an off‑duty firefighter on overtime. If a station has a surplus of firefighters at a station, a firefighter may work a shift at another station, called an ‘outduty’ to cover a shortage without requiring overtime. Likewise, if an on-call station cannot provide enough firefighters to meet minimum staffing levels, off-duty permanent firefighters might be brought in to work overtime. Where an on-call firefighter staffs a station due to unavailability of an on-call or permanent firefighter, they are paid relief duties and overtime for any time worked more than 10 hours.

Trends in unplanned leave

Permanent firefighters took an average of 226 hours unplanned leave in 2025, which was an increase from an average of 218 hours in 2023. Figure 6 below shows the major types of unplanned leave.

Frontline management of unplanned leave and overtime

The sick leave documentation policy requires firefighters to provide a medical certificate prior to recommencing duty, but this is not always enforced

Fire and Rescue NSW requires permanent firefighters to provide a medical certificate before returning to duty after specific absences, such as public holidays or when a firefighter on a 24‑hour roster has taken more than 2 uncertified sick‑leave shifts in a year. However, the policy is not applied consistently. Current guidance allows certificates to be uploaded within 4 shifts after returning to work, meaning firefighters may resume duty before their medical clearance is reviewed. Fire and Rescue NSW do not centrally monitor compliance with this policy.

Because the Health and Safety Branch often review certificates after staff have already returned, managers cannot be certain that firefighters are fit for duty, increasing safety risks during emergency operations. These delays also make it harder to identify emerging health issues early, reducing the effectiveness of the policy. Fire and Rescue has drafted a revised policy to be implemented pending consultation with industrial partners.

Fire and Rescue NSW is reinstating its attendance management policy to support more consistent oversight of sick leave patterns across the workforce

The Attendance Management and Firefighter Wellbeing Policy is intended to help managers identify and respond to high or unusual patterns of sick leave for permanent firefighters. The policy was suspended from February 2024 to October 2025 during industrial negotiations. This created a period without formal guidance and limited managers’ ability to address emerging attendance concerns. Fire and Rescue NSW and its industrial partners began reinstating the policy in early 2026.

To support the policy, Fire and Rescue NSW introduced a system that identifies firefighters who reach one or more triggers, such as high sick leave hours within a set period or patterns of absences around weekends or public holidays. People and Culture produce monthly reports showing which firefighters meet these triggers. Around 1,870 permanent firefighters recorded 96 hours or more of sick leave or personal carers leave during 2025, which would have flagged them for monitoring under the policy.

The policy, which focuses on ensuring the wellbeing of staff, sets out a sequence of management responses that begins with an initial discussion and may progress to formal written communication and meetings with senior management. The process stops if managers identify a legitimate reason for the level or pattern of sick leave. Possible interventions include restricting access to overtime, requiring medical certificates for all absences or placing an employee on a special roster. Duty commanders may recommend exemptions for personal or family circumstances and zone commanders review these recommendations. Consistent application will be important to avoid perceptions of unfairness and maintain staff confidence in the process.

Fire and Rescue NSW has advised that the People and Culture Directorate will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of this policy and will report to various governance committees as required.

Staff rostering system provides an alert for fatigue risks when allocating overtime shifts to permanent firefighters but can be overridden

When absences affect minimum staffing, duty commanders try to fill shifts using relieving firefighters. If none are available, they recall off‑duty permanent firefighters on overtime, which increases fatigue risks and operational costs. Fire and Rescue NSW use a bespoke system to manage the rostering of permanent firefighters (SAM: System to Automate Manual Disposition). Although the SAM system issues fatigue alerts, duty commanders can override these warnings, which weakens Fire and Rescue NSW’s fatigue controls and increases safety risks.

To assist staffing decisions, the SAM system produces a prioritised list of available firefighters based on hours worked, location and required capabilities. duty commanders are expected to follow this order when recalling staff and must record a reason if they choose a different firefighter.

Fire and Rescue NSW’s Fatigue Management Procedure identifies heightened fatigue risk when firefighters work more than 56 hours in a week, which is consistent with SafeWork NSW guidance. The Fire and Rescue NSW procedure accepts a higher limit of 72-hours worked over 7 days (for firefighters with access to recline facilities to assist fatigue management). SAM alerts duty commanders if an overtime shift would exceed the 72‑hour limit and they are expected to review the firefighter’s fatigue level before approving additional hours. Despite these measures, overrides still occur and in 2025 an average of 77 firefighters per day worked beyond the 72‑hour threshold.

Oversight and monitoring

Each Area Command creates custom data reports to monitor performance across their zones

Each of the 7 Area Commands has a business manager who prepares monthly performance reports for zone commanders. These reports cover unplanned leave and overtime, including budget figures, breakdowns by type and reason, and average hours per permanent firefighter. They also analyse sick leave and overtime by station, platoon, day of the week and zone, supporting informed decision-making and targeted management responses. Business managers provide customised reports or advice to duty commanders and zone commanders upon request.

A central field operations team also develops similar reports to support deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners. This process can result in duplicated reporting efforts.

Despite these monitoring controls, isolated cases remain where individual staff members work high amounts of overtime over a year. For instance, in 2025, 10 permanent firefighters earned an average of $86,200 in overtime while 10 on-call firefighters earned an average of $104,500 in on-call relief payments. The agency suggested this could be due to factors such as location, role type or specific capabilities, but has not conducted detailed analysis to understand the specific causes or identify measures to limit recurrence in future years.

Structured reporting and oversight supports informed decision-making

Fire and Rescue NSW use a structured set of reporting processes and management forums to monitor leave and overtime trends. Senior leaders receive regular updates that support decision‑making, workforce planning and the review of performance against budget. The Finance and Performance Committee meets monthly to review financial results, workforce data and operational performance, with Area Commands providing more detailed reports every 3 months. The usefulness of this oversight depends on Area Commands applying insights from these reports to strengthen day‑to‑day management.

Broader organisational oversight is provided through the Commissioner’s Leadership Group, which meets weekly to consider service‑wide issues. The Workforce Planning Steering Committee meets quarterly to review staffing levels, vacancies, leave, recruitment and turnover. A new Financial and Resource Management Committee will report to the Commissioner’s Leadership Group, focusing on strategic projects that influence unplanned leave and overtime.

Workforce planning and rostering

Relieving firefighters are used to cover planned leave, with unplanned leave filled by recalling staff on overtime

Fire and Rescue NSW designed permanent firefighter reliever positions to cover annual and long-service leave. When there is spare capacity, relievers are also used to cover unplanned absences. As at 31 July 2025, the average relieving ratio was 31.2%. The highest ratio was in Metro West at 36.7%, and the lowest was in Region South at 29.6%. Fire and Rescue NSW advised that expanded parental leave introduced in 2022 was not funded with additional staffing or higher relieving ratios. This has increased firefighter unavailability and placed further pressure on the relief workforce.

Permanent firefighter unavailability has risen over time, from about 25% in 2018–19 to roughly 32% in 2024–25. It also varies by day of the week, with higher sick leave rates on weekends. These patterns make it harder for Fire and Rescue NSW to plan relief coverage and increases the likelihood that overtime will be required to fill shifts at short notice.

Fire and Rescue NSW Strategic Workforce Plan 2026–31 acknowledges permanent firefighter unavailability is too high and current relieving ratios no longer suit the service delivery model. The plan commits to examining reasons for high unavailability and to review relieving ratios.

The 24-hour roster was implemented without a comprehensive evaluation of benefits and risks

The Permanent Firefighter Award sets out the default Fire and Rescue NSW roster as the 10/14 pattern, where firefighters work two 10‑hour day shifts and two 14‑hour night shifts before 4 days off. In December 2014, after a change to the Award, a 24-hour roster was piloted at a station and quickly expanded across the organisation due to requests from staff. This occurred even though no full evaluation was completed and 24‑hour shifts carry inherent fatigue risks.

Under the 24‑hour system, firefighters work two 24‑hour shifts in a 72-hour period, followed by 5 days off. The trial aimed to improve wellbeing by allowing more time at home between shifts and reducing the number of consecutive night shifts. Fire and Rescue NSW reported lower absenteeism during the trial and progressively extended the roster from 2015 onwards, until it became the predominant roster by 2016.

Despite these intentions, the 10/14 roster and the 24‑hour roster don’t align with SafeWork NSW guidance, which advises limiting long shifts and high‑risk night‑work patterns to reduce fatigue and support safe work practices. Fire and Rescue NSW’s fatigue management policy and procedure do not specifically address the fact that most permanent firefighters work 24-hour shifts. The guidance advises workers to prepare for their shifts by understanding the causes of fatigue and recognising potential risks. It provides instructions on how to develop a Fatigue Management Plan when necessary. Workers are encouraged to use self-management techniques to avoid fatigue, such as rotating tasks, asking for help, using rehabilitation services, and responding to high or extreme risk situations by stopping work and reporting fatigue to their supervisor.

Many on-call stations cannot maintain sufficient staffing levels, leading to increased use of overtime to cover gaps

The Retained (on-call) Firefighting Staff Award requires on‑call firefighters to nominate at least 24 hours of availability each week, but this level of availability with the current number of staff does not meet the staffing needs of many stations. Because on-call firefighters can choose the hours they are available, overall availability often falls well short of what is needed to keep appliances crewed and maintain safe response capability.

A typical on‑call station using a standard pump appliance needs enough firefighters to provide 672 hours of coverage each week to ensure 4 firefighters are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With 12 firefighters on the roster (standard establishment for an on-call station), the minimum required availability is only 288 hours, leaving a substantial shortfall. To meet service needs, each firefighter would need to provide 56 hours of availability, far more than the minimum required.

It is not practical to expect on-call firefighters to be available for the extensive hours required, as most have primary employment elsewhere. As at 31 December 2025, Fire and Rescue NSW had around 600 on-call firefighter vacancies across 206 stations. The organisation has reported challenges in attracting suitable candidates in many regional towns, attributing this to factors such as declining and transient populations, out-of-town employment, and the need for secure primary employment. Increasing establishment numbers at each station may alleviate some availability issues but would result in higher overall costs. Furthermore, even with additional roles filled, maintaining required availability during weekday daytime hours may continue to present difficulties.

Safe staffing levels for on‑call stations depend on the appliance type. The Retained (on-call) Firefighting Staff Award provides for allowances for availability and relieving duties. When availability is below minimum staffing levels, to ensure service delivery to the community Fire and Rescue NSW must fill gaps by offering shifts to permanent firefighters, which increases overtime costs and adds to the unavailability pressures.

In 2025, Fire and Rescue NSW estimated that it incurred approximately $44 million in expenses due to on-call staffing shortfalls. These costs included permanent firefighter overtime payments, on-call relief payments, and related travel, meal, and accommodation allowances. Of this total, $12 million was spent on overtime and other expenses to cover shortages at just 10 stations. Notably, 6 of these stations responded to a relatively low number of incidents in 2025, averaging about 50 incidents each. This suggests that there is scope to re-examine whether there are appropriate service delivery arrangements in place at stations with low incidents.

Initiatives to reduce unplanned leave and overtime

An Overtime Comptroller function has been put in place to address causes of overtime

Fire and Rescue NSW created an Overtime Comptroller function and appointed the Assistant Commissioner for Operational Assurance and Planning to lead this work in early 2024. The role is intended to strengthen workforce sustainability and provide oversight of overtime drivers.

The Comptroller is responsible for monitoring overtime, identifying trends and drivers, and implementing organisation-wide initiatives to address these drivers. The Comptroller provides updates to senior leadership, including the Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Capability, the Finance and Performance Committee and the Commissioner’s Leadership Group.

The Tanker Strategy is an approach to maintain response capability in low-risk communities that have difficulty maintaining staff numbers and have a low numbers of incidents

Fire and Rescue NSW designed the Tanker Strategy in 2023 to align firefighting resources with local risk profiles and community needs, particularly in low-risk rural areas experiencing population decline and low incident rates. Under this approach, pumpers at selected stations are replaced with Class 1 tankers, which Fire and Rescue NSW advise offer enhanced water carrying capacity and are better suited to rural and bushfire conditions. When stations face challenges maintaining a 4-person crew, the tanker may operate with a minimum crew of 2 firefighters, reducing the reliance on overtime to cover staffing shortages.

In 2019, Fire and Rescue NSW replaced the pumper at Peak Hill station with a tanker. It reports this has resulted in improved access to rural terrain, reduced staffing pressures and stabilised operations. Building on the experience at Peak Hill, Fire and Rescue NSW developed the Tanker Strategy to implement at other stations identified as low-risk, low-incident. This model allows for a 2-person response, supported by procedures for rapid escalation and defensive-only operations until additional resources arrive.

Fire and Rescue NSW reports that the Tanker Strategy is not currently being progressed and discussions continue with Government and its industrial partners to develop appropriate approaches to ensure service delivery across NSW.

The Sustainable On-Call program identified several initiatives to improve availability of on-call firefighters but has not yet been fully implemented

Fire and Rescue NSW launched the Sustainable On‑Call program in 2022 to improve the availability and retention of on‑call firefighters and reduce reliance on overtime. However, by January 2026 none of the program’s projects had been fully implemented or assessed, leaving key issues such as low availability, overtime dependence and slow recruitment processes unresolved.

The program includes several initiatives intended to strengthen the on‑call workforce. Some work has begun, but progress has been limited. The Compensation for Availability project explored payments for firefighters who volunteered more hours, and using a casual workforce to ease pressure on stations but did not progress to a pilot. Another project in the program aimed to improve on-call firefighter recruitment processes, aiming to shorten delays and reduce applicant drop‑off.

Fire and Rescue NSW also created the On-Call to Career Firefighter Pathway to help more on‑call firefighters transition into permanent roles, addressing historically low success rates for applicants. A new policy was finalised in 2024 and 84 on-call firefighters transitioned to a permanent role in 2025. This initiative may help attract more on-call firefighters who are interested in becoming permanent recruits overall, but it is unlikely to resolve staffing shortages in specific areas.

Fire and Rescue NSW has a program designed to increase the capacity for training new permanent firefighters

In late 2024, Fire and Rescue NSW expanded its training capacity for permanent firefighter recruits. The service established a system to train 200 recruits, with further enhancements made to enable up to 400 recruits per year from 2026. The actual number of recruits trained each year will be set by the Commissioner’s Leadership Group, based on advice from the Workforce Planning area. This increased and flexible training capacity is intended to provide a more agile response to permanent vacancies, helping to address issues with staff availability and reliance on overtime.

Overview

NSW Ambulance is a frontline health service that provides both emergency and non-emergency medical care and transport to patients throughout NSW, often in urgent and high-pressure situations. Paramedics at NSW Ambulance are trained in specialised medical procedures to treat injuries, save lives, and operate ambulance vehicles and equipment. NSW Ambulance triages incidents requiring an ambulance response into categories, which prioritise patient safety, by ensuring that patients who need the most urgent care are seen within clinically recommended timeframes.

NSW Ambulance operates 244 stations across the state. Of these, 145 provide 24-hour staffing, while the remaining 94 include an on-call component to ensure coverage (38.5% on-call). The service is structured into 8 sectors, each divided into between 1 and 3 zones. On average, each zone has 11 stations, with the number of stations per zone ranging from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 23.

As at June 2025, NSW Ambulance employed 5,771 full time equivalent paramedics, with the workforce almost evenly divided between men (51%) and women (49%). The number of full time equivalent paramedics increased by 596 between June 2023 and June 2025 (an increase of 11.5%). In 2025, there were 1.52 million ambulance responses to incidents. This was an increase of around 5.3% (76,700 responses) compared to 2023 (1.45 million responses). Considering both the increase in emergency incidents and the rise in staffing, each full time equivalent paramedic responded to an average of 264 incidents in 2025. This was a reduction of 16 responses per paramedic compared to 2023, when the average was 280 responses (a decrease of 5.6%).

Minimum staffing levels and roster patterns

Most ambulance stations operate 24 hours a day, with paramedics working 12‑hour day and night shifts in a rotating roster. A common pattern is 4 consecutive 12‑hour shifts followed by 5 days off. There are 94 ambulance stations that also run 24 hours but rely on an overnight on‑call system (38.5% of all stations). Paramedics at these stations typically work 10 or 11-hour day shifts and stay on‑call overnight, responding to emergencies if required and receiving overtime for call‑outs.

Paramedics work in 2‑person crews. Each paramedic counts as 0.5 of a resource, so one crew equals 2 paramedics. Minimum staffing levels (the Planned Ambulance Roster) are set for metropolitan and regional areas.

NSW Ambulance incident triage prioritises patient safety, to ensure patients requiring urgent care are seen within clinically recommended times. Because emergency responses are time‑critical, paramedics may need to attend incidents near the end of their shift or during crib breaks, which can lead to overtime. Under the Award, they may receive additional payments for:

• working past the end of their shift (time‑and‑a‑half for the first 2 hours, then double time)
• missing or being interrupted during a crib break (one hour at ordinary rates)
• being on-call (weekly allowance)
• working public holidays (double time‑and‑a‑half).

Penalty rates apply for:

• afternoon and night shifts (10–15%)
• Saturday shifts (time‑and‑a‑half)
• Sunday shifts (time‑and‑three‑quarters).

Trends in unplanned leave

The average number of hours of unplanned leave (sick leave, personal/carers leave, FACS leave and other leave types) per full time equivalent paramedic was 108 hours in both 2024 and 2025. The average amount of workers compensation leave taken in 2025 was 143.2 hours, an increase from 131.7 hours in 2024.

Figure 11 below shows that paramedics were twice as likely to take sick leave for night shifts (around 13% of total hours) compared to day shifts (around 6.5% of total hours) in both 2024 and 2025.

Frontline management of unplanned leave and overtime

Clear processes support the reporting and monitoring of sick and carers leave, with sector managers and HR business partners providing oversight and guidance

NSW Ambulance has structured processes to ensure absences are reported and recorded accurately. Paramedics notify the Absence Coordination Line (ACL) when they are going to be absent from work. ACL staff update core systems to maintain reliable staffing information. When staff return to duty, they complete the required documentation and their details are checked across systems to support compliance with sick leave policies.

Duty operations managers monitor sick leave use and act when patterns indicate concern. The sick leave procedure outlines clear trigger points for informal conversations and formal meetings, including repeated unsupported absences or patterns around public holidays or rostered leave. Managers may require additional evidence or limit access to overtime when appropriate.

Sector support managers provide reports and dashboards that highlight trends such as absences by shift type, roster timing and associated overtime. These tools support targeted management action, though their effectiveness depends on consistent use by supervisors.

People and culture business partners supplement this oversight through regular reporting on unplanned leave and by advising managers on appropriate responses. Their involvement supports consistent application of policy and helps managers address issues early.

The ACL centrally manages backfilling by monitoring staffing in real time and applying guidelines that prioritise non‑overtime options before filling vacancies

The ACL operates on a 24-hour basis and manages absence reporting and backfilling, giving NSW Ambulance real‑time visibility of staffing and leave trends. This centralised model reduces the workload on local managers.

ACL dashboards monitor staffing against minimum requirements and regional guidelines help determine where backfilling is needed. The ACL fills vacancies using a defined order that treats overtime as a last resort and escalates issues for isolated stations. ACL staff are required to follow organisation-wide fatigue mitigation and management policies and procedures.

Overtime is allocated by prioritising staff with the least overtime recorded in the previous 90 days, using centralised systems. However, reliance on manual data entry across multiple systems adds to workload and increases risks of errors.

Control Centre protocols aim to minimise paramedic fatigue and overtime, however, missed breaks and extended shifts remain common due to operational needs

Control Centre dispatchers follow established protocols to manage paramedic shifts, breaks and overtime, aiming to support patient care and minimise fatigue. Emergency incidents can occur at any time, making it necessary at times for paramedics to respond during a meal break or outside of their scheduled shifts. As a result, missed breaks and extended shifts remain common, increasing risks of fatigue and contributing to higher overtime costs.

In 2025, NSW Ambulance paid paramedics $32.5 million in overtime costs due to extensions of shifts. Each full time equivalent paramedic had an average of 63 hours in extension of shift overtime in 2025. This led to an average payment per full time equivalent paramedic of $6,181. Each paramedic worked an average of 116 shifts in 2025, meaning that each shift was extended for 33 minutes on average.

In addition, NSW Ambulance paid paramedics $28.3 million for missed or interrupted meal breaks in 2025. Each full time equivalent paramedic had an average of 121 missed or interrupted meal breaks over 2025. This led to average payments per full time equivalent paramedic of $5,383. In 2025, paramedics missed approximately 45% of the meal breaks they were entitled to. Of the meal breaks that commenced, around 22% were interrupted.

NSW Ambulance triages incidents into categories, which determine clinical priority for assigning a paramedic crew to respond. Categories 1 and 2 require a more urgent response. Organisational fatigue protocols require dispatchers to prioritise on‑duty crews and avoid interrupting crib breaks unless responding to a Category 1 or 2 emergency. NSW Ambulance has established work instructions that require supervisors to approve work assigned to crews nearing the end of their shift or to lower priority incidents to reduce the need for shift extensions.

Dispatchers also use the CREWS system to monitor break compliance, record missed or disturbed breaks that attract penalty payments, and log extension‑of‑shift overtime to support accurate reporting and oversight.

Oversight and monitoring

NSW Ambulance uses quarterly reports to track sick leave trends and requires managers to explain results and actions taken in response

NSW Ambulance monitors how the sick leave policy is being applied through centrally produced quarterly reports provided to local managers. These reports compare results with the previous quarter and require managers to explain any changes and outline actions to address emerging issues. They include data on the number of staff requiring management under the policy, those with 5 to 7 and 8 or more episodes of unsupported sick leave, the number of conversations held at each trigger point, and the number of formal letters issued.

NSW Ambulance is improving workforce oversight by developing central dashboards and regular reports that track staffing, overtime and performance trends

NSW Ambulance does not yet have a single system that brings together workforce data, such as availability, leave and training. To address this, the Rostering Hub is developing dashboards that combine information on staffing levels, overtime, roster availability, annual leave and crew forecasts. These dashboards aim to improve visibility and support more informed workforce planning, and will be available to managers and staff across both the Hub and operational areas.

Clinical Operations also produces weekly and fortnightly reports to monitor sector and zone performance. These reports track workload, service performance and premium labour use. They provide more detailed insights into overtime and unplanned absences, including forecasts of any upcoming staffing shortfalls.

Both the existing reports and the new dashboards classify overtime as event‑related, planned, unplanned or unknown. These categories help managers understand which overtime can be avoided, particularly for planned activities.

Structured reporting and oversight supports informed decision-making

NSW Ambulance maintains oversight of leave and overtime through regular reporting and ongoing management discussions. This structured approach helps senior leaders monitor trends, understand emerging risks and make more informed workforce decisions.

Oversight is supported through recurring executive‑level forums, where leaders review sick leave and overtime information and consider organisation‑wide performance. Quarterly review meetings also examine results across Directorates and help identify areas that require further action.

Despite these monitoring controls, isolated cases remain where individual staff members work high amounts of overtime over a year. For example, in 2025, 10 paramedics worked an average of 1,428 overtime hours while a separate group of 10 paramedics received payments for an average of 217 missed or interrupted meal breaks throughout the year. The agency suggested this could be due to factors such as location, role type or specific capabilities, but has not conducted detailed analysis to understand the specific causes or identify measures to limit recurrence in future years.

Workforce planning and rostering

Planned Ambulance Roster framework identifies minimum staffing levels and when to replace staff using overtime

The Planned Ambulance Roster (PAR) sets the minimum number of ambulance crews needed at each zone, with each crew made up of 2 paramedics. PAR levels apply across metropolitan and regional areas and are adjusted in line with staffing increases.

ACL staff and shift managers use dashboards to monitor staffing against PAR. When absences risk dropping staffing below the required level, additional staff are called in. Rostering guidance requires all other staffing options to be used before overtime, including reallocating shifts, redeploying staff, offering extra hours to part‑time staff and using casual staff.

In metropolitan NSW, PAR is managed across the wider region, allowing paramedics to be moved between stations to reduce overtime. A rotating PAR commander oversees this process. In regional NSW, PAR is monitored at the sector level. Escalation processes outline when to involve shift managers and which stations must be covered.

In 2022, NSW Ambulance increased its relief staffing rate to better match staff unavailability, which has reduced reliance on overtime

NSW Ambulance allocates extra paramedic positions at each station to cover routine absences, including annual leave, training, workers compensation, parental leave and sick leave.

In 2021, NSW Ambulance found that its relief staffing rate, set at 32.75% since 2014, no longer matched actual staff unavailability. This mismatch was partly driven by changes in workforce demographics, leading to a greater need to cover parental leave. The percentage of the female paramedic workforce (based on paid full-time equivalent) increased from 32% as at June 2016 to 39% as at June 2021. With more staff unavailable, the reliance on overtime increased. Staff were unavailable for 39.3% of rostered hours, a gap of 6.5 percentage points to the relief rate. In response, NSW Ambulance increased the relief rate in metropolitan areas to 39.1% in 2022, while rural areas kept the original rate of 32.75%. The increase in the relief staffing rate has reduced the reliance on overtime to cover staff absences. NSW Ambulance regularly reviews its relief staffing rate to support workforce planning. This process helps identify areas where increasing relief staff could lower the need for overtime.

Rosters with 12‑hour shifts increase the risk that paramedics may not get enough rest between consecutive shifts, particularly when their shifts extend beyond the planned finish time

At stations with 24/7 staffing, most paramedics work 4 consecutive 12-hour shifts across 4 days, then have 5 days off. Common roster patterns include day-day-night-night or day-day-afternoon-night. Between the day-day and night-night shifts, paramedics only receive 12 hours to recover. SafeWork NSW advises allowing at least 16 hours of rest between shifts, noting that breaks shorter than 12 hours increase risks of fatigue.

When paramedics are required to work overtime at the end of a 12-hour shift between the day-day or night-night transition they will receive less than 12 hours of rest. Due to the unpredictable nature of emergency incidents, extended shifts are common. In 2025, each full time equivalent paramedic worked around 63 hours of extended shifts. This led to $32.5 million in overtime costs due to extensions of shifts ($6,181 per full time equivalent paramedic). An average full time equivalent paramedic worked 116 shifts in 2025, meaning each shift was extended for an average of 33 minutes.

If a paramedic works overtime and ends up with less than 8 hours rest between shifts, they can delay the start of their next shift to make sure they get at least 8 hours off. They will still receive full pay for the delayed shift. However, if the paramedic has already had at least 8 hours off but still feels fatigued at the start of their shift, they must take sick leave if they need additional rest.

In 2025, NSW Ambulance began a project to improve oversight and management of fatigue risks. As part of the Fatigue Risk Management Review, it developed a draft framework designed to provide a more structured and proactive approach to managing fatigue risks. To support this framework, NSW Ambulance has also created a Risk Assessment Tool and a Risk Management Chart. It plans to trial the new controls developed under this approach in May 2026.

On‑call roster patterns reduce opportunities for adequate rest and require fatigue controls, affecting paramedic availability

At most stations with on-call staffing, paramedics work 10 or 11-hour shifts. For stations with 10-hour shifts, the usual pattern is for paramedics to work 8 consecutive day shifts while being on-call for 7 nights, followed by 6 days off. Where on‑call arrangements are required, SafeWork NSW recommends minimising workers’ exposure to other fatigue‑related hazards, such as long weekly hours (more than 55 hours in a week) and extended periods of continuous work (more than 7 consecutive days of work). The typical on-call roster pattern exceeds these guidelines.

Regular on‑call shifts can increase fatigue risks when paramedics are called out overnight and do not receive the recommended 12 hours of rest before starting their next shift. To address these risks, NSW Ambulance has introduced several strategies to manage fatigue. Paramedics are eligible to use these measures if they have responded to an on-call incident within 8 hours prior to their next rostered shift (lower than the minimum 12 hours’ rest recommended by SafeWork NSW). The 3 measures are:

• Sleep in – provides up to 4 hours delayed start for the next rostered shift. During this period, the paramedic is an available resource for any priority of incident.
• Limited availability – provides up to 4 hours of limited availability from the time of notification. During this period, the paramedic is an available resource only for high priority incidents.
• Rest – provides up to 6 hours of undisturbed rest from the time of notification.

Given the demands of current roster patterns, implementing fatigue mitigation strategies is essential for the safety of on-call paramedics. Although these controls may not directly increase overtime costs, they do reduce the number of paramedics who are available to immediately respond to incidents. NSW Ambulance does not collect accurate data on the length of each instance of fatigue mitigation or how much rostered shifts are affected by their use. In 2025, NSW Ambulance applied these fatigue measures approximately 14,000 times (Table 9 below).

Source: Audit Office of NSW analysis of NSW Ambulance information.

Initiatives to reduce unplanned leave and overtime

NSW Ambulance has strengthened staffing oversight by centralising rostering and absence management, supported by new dashboards and a 24/7 Absence Coordination Line

NSW Ambulance has centralised its rostering, deployment and leave management through the State‑Wide Rostering Improvement Project, which aims to create consistent practices, reduce administrative burden and give managers better tools for staffing decisions.

A central Rostering Hub now manages paramedic rosters, replacing the previous ad hoc local processes that limited visibility of broader workforce issues. The Hub also checks key shift records and manages backfilling, improving the accuracy of workforce data and strengthening oversight of absences and overtime. To improve visibility across multiple systems, the Hub has created dashboards that combine key workforce information, giving managers clearer insights for planning, even though they require manual updates.

NSW Ambulance also established a 24/7 Absence Coordination Line, which centralises absence reporting and backfilling, reducing workload on station managers and enabling more consistent responses to unplanned absences.

The On-Duty Relief model aims to provide more reliable coverage for short-term absences and reduce disruptive staff movements

In late 2024, NSW Ambulance piloted the On‑Duty Relief (ODR) model in the Western Sydney Zone. The pilot aimed to improve workforce stability and reduce the amount of time paramedics spend being moved between stations to cover short‑term absences. The model adds extra paramedics above minimum staffing levels so that relief is immediately available when gaps occur, helping reduce disruptions during shifts and supporting fatigue management.

A key feature of the trial was the creation of a dedicated on‑duty relief paramedic role. These paramedics started their shift at the station needing coverage before their shift, avoiding the delays and inefficiencies of the usual process where staff were reassigned only after arriving at their home station. This aimed to ensure crews were paired earlier and able to start work promptly.

The evaluation of the pilot showed improvements across several measures: staff movements dropped significantly, more crews were able to complete crib breaks, response times improved and extension‑of‑shift overtime slightly decreased. However, the trial also saw an increase in the total number of overtime extensions and a small rise in daily short‑term absences.

Following these results, NSW Ambulance has begun expanding the ODR model, starting in the Hunter Zone in early 2026, and plans to continue rolling it out across metropolitan and peri‑urban areas. As an improvement following the trial, relief paramedics can now access a list of available vacancies and select their preferred alternate shift start location before their shift begins. As part of statewide implementation, NSW Ambulance expects to increase PAR staffing levels to ensure the model is fully supported.

Workforce enhancements are reducing on-call overtime costs

Since 2018, NSW Ambulance has introduced a series of programs aimed at strengthening its workforce, improving facilities and reducing reliance on on-call staffing arrangements. A major component of these programs has been reducing the number of on-call stations. By August 2025, 65 stations had moved from on‑call models to full 24/7 roster coverage. This shift has contributed to a reduced number of call out incidents from around 50,500 in 2023 to around 31,200 in 2025. Total on-call overtime costs reduced from $31 million in 2023 to $25.6 million in 2025.

At the same time, on-call demand has remained low at many remaining locations. In 2025, 76 of the 94 on-call stations averaged fewer than one call out per night. In low demand areas, on‑call models continue to provide effective coverage with lower staffing costs than full 24/7 operations.

Since 2018, the Statewide Workforce Enhancement Program has added 410 regional staff, converted 22 stations to 24/7 operations and reduced on‑call arrangements at 8 locations. NSW Ambulance monitors results at these stations, including premium labour use, sick leave, fatigue‑related indicators and excess annual leave.

The Strategic Workforce Infrastructure Team program began in 2022 to improve response times, increase meal break access, reduce shift extensions and lower overtime. It will add 2,500 staff across the state, including 500 paramedics for regional and rural areas, along with 30 new stations and extra emergency vehicles. The program timeline was extended from 4 to 7 years in 2023. A working group monitors progress by tracking metrics such as sick leave per FTE and dropped shift overtime.

As part of these programs, NSW Ambulance has announced plans to reduce and/or retire on-call arrangements at a further 9 locations across NSW. Beyond 2026, the agency reports it will continue reviewing stations to identify additional opportunities to transition away from the on-call model. The agency selects stations for 24/7 roster coverage using a planning approach that assesses demand patterns, coverage gaps and projected community need.