The Council of Ambulance Authorities

The Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) is a not-for-profit national charity and operates as the peak body for the Australian, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea ambulance sectors.  The CAA works tirelessly to collaborate on ambulance and pre-hospital issues of metropolitan, regional, national and international significance. We stand alongside ambulance services, healthcare professionals and researchers to build community awareness and foster new thinking in patient centered care by ambulance healthcare services.

The CAA was set up in 1962 with the aim to provide ambulance service CEOs a networking opportunity to discuss issues, learnings and achievements current to the pre-hospital industry.

Member services collective knowledge and expertise provides a sound foundation to explore opportunities for improvement and innovation and to advocate on the sector’s behalf in key areas.

Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea collectively have a paramedic workforce of more than 17,000 supported by more than 11,000 trained volunteer first responders. 

The Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) represents the eleven statutory ambulance services across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, which employ these paramedics who are sought after across the world for their clinical skills, knowledge and experience. 

Equally, the expert workforce from call takers and researchers, fleet supervisors to strategic business analysts, contribute to the delivery of an unrivalled service to foster and build the health and wellbeing of Australian, New Zealander and Papua New Guinea communities in cities, towns and isolated remote regions.

CAA represents a unified voice for the Ambulance Health Sector working to respond to changing community needs with patient-centered practices. 

Ambulance service representatives on three committees, four forums and eight working groups contribute to CAA’s focus on evidence-based initiatives and projects designed to keep ambulance services at the forefront of paramedicine. 

CAA’s national events and representations in international forums build on strategic relationships with government and agencies to help address challenges and deliver optimum services. 

The Chief Executive Officer reports to the Board comprising of chief executives from each service.

Our work in the pre-hospital sector seeks to build on the strengths of ambulance services, address their challenges and promote the unique role they play in the health and wellbeing of all communities to governments, agencies and the public.