newy.com.au – A NSW parliamentary committee has recommended that the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service’s government contract not be extended unless NSW Ambulance is satisfied the organisation provides an ongoing safe workplace.
The Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service’s 10-year contract expires in May 2027 and includes an option for a further five years, which NSW Ambulance has not exercised. The recommendation does not affect current rescue operations from Belmont, Tamworth and Lismore.
The service was examined as part of the parliamentary inquiry into infrastructure and operational failures at Calvary Mater Hospital, despite having no contractual or operational connection to the hospital.
The inquiry’s terms allowed the committee to compare the Mater public-private partnership with other NSW healthcare partnerships on safety, transparency and accountability. Former rescue helicopter employee Stacey Price made a submission arguing the publicly funded aeromedical service was a relevant comparison.
Committee minutes show NSW Health initially maintained the helicopter contract was outside the inquiry’s terms. The committee disagreed and advised NSW Ambulance that it intended to hear evidence about the contract, including from former employees.
The committee’s final report, tabled on Wednesday, said it received public and confidential allegations concerning safety records, training compliance, workplace bullying and harassment, and the treatment of staff who raised concerns.
Ms Price, who worked in training and compliance roles at the service between 2018 and 2024, alleged some personnel had performed duties for about two years before receiving required statements of attainment, despite internal systems recording the competencies as complete. She alleged the qualifications were later issued retrospectively and records backdated.
Other former employees gave confidential evidence about what the report described as a “tick and flick” approach to some training assessments. The report also detailed allegations of bullying, psychological abuse and inappropriate sexualised conduct.
The allegations have not been established by a court or regulator. The committee also acknowledged that evidence about the helicopter service and other arrangements examined alongside the Mater had not been fully tested with all stakeholders.
The committee made a separate finding that the service’s use of non-disclosure agreements with former staff had prevented transparency, silenced potential whistleblowers and delayed the correction of problems.
NSW Ambulance executive director of aeromedical and special operations Dr Sarah Coombes told the inquiry in May that several former employees had confidentiality agreements, entered into at the request of either the employee or the service. She said assurances had been received that the agreements would not prevent former staff participating in an independent review.
That review was commissioned by the helicopter service and is being conducted by King & Wood Mallesons. The parliamentary committee questioned whether it could command the confidence of former staff while a subcommittee of the service’s board retained oversight of the process, and recommended NSW Ambulance ensure the investigation’s findings were transparent.
Dr Coombes told the hearing NSW Ambulance would not decide whether to extend the contract until it had received the review, its recommendations and an action plan from the service. She said an alternative operator would need to be in place about six months before the existing contract expired if the extension was rejected.
The helicopter service previously said the allegations were deeply concerning and that it would not tolerate harassment, bullying, inappropriate behaviour or discrimination. It committed to providing the review’s findings to the NSW Government, NSW Ambulance, Westpac and the community.
It also said a Civil Aviation Safety Authority surveillance audit in July 2025 recorded no safety alerts or findings concerning its air operations, although three observations identified opportunities for improvement. A SafeWork NSW inspection of its Broadmeadow facility later provided advice on two matters for consideration.
The service supplies the helicopters, pilots, aircrew, engineers and ground support under the contract, while NSW Ambulance and local health districts provide critical-care paramedics and doctors. Westpac is its naming-rights partner rather than the government-contracted operator.
