Today’s question is
In South Australia, as in the rest of Australia now, there are certain terms that are protected in relation to the provision of healthcare, including ‘nurse’ and ‘paramedic’. Does the same apply to the term of ‘ambulance’? is there anything stopping a first aid provider from placing a large sticker on their van and calling it an ‘ambulance’?
Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland
In Victoria (Ambulance Services Act 1986 (Vic) s 39(1)(c))) a person must not:
… use the word “ambulance” (other than on a registration label) on any vehicle that is not owned or operated by an ambulance service without the written authority of the Secretary.
In Tasmania (Ambulance Service Act 1982 (Tas) s 39):
Unless authorised by the Commissioner, a person must not drive, operate or have charge of, or allow another person to drive, operate or have charge of, a vehicle, other than an ambulance, that is –
(a) marked with the word “ambulance” ; or
(b) otherwise marked or altered, or bears any inscription –
so as to imply, or lead to the belief, that the vehicle is an ambulance capable of providing ambulance services.
In Queensland (Ambulance Service Act 1991 (Qld) s 48):
(1) A person must not—
(a) without the written authority of the Minister—use the words ‘Ambulance Service’ or any similar name, title or description; or…
(c) … use the word ‘Ambulance’ on any vehicle that is not operated by the service…
Again, as noted in a comment below respect to Victoria, this restriction does not apply to St John Ambulance Australia (Qld) or to ‘the use of the words ‘animal ambulance’ on a vehicle owned or operated by an animal welfare organisation for the transport of sick or injured animals’ (s 48(2))
South Australia
The Health Care Act 2008 (SA) s 57 says:
A person must not display the term “Emergency Ambulance” on a motor vehicle driven on a public road unless the vehicle is being used—
(a) by SAAS; or
(b) by a person in circumstances prescribed by the regulations.
That does not stop the use of the word ‘ambulance’, just ‘emergency ambulance’.
The ACT and NSW
In the ACT (Emergencies Act 2004 (ACT) s 63):
A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person is not approved by the Minister …and
(b) the person provides emergency, ambulance, firefighting or rescue services.
In New South Wales (Health Services Act 1997 (NSW) s 67E):
(1) A person must not–
(a) directly or indirectly provide or take part in the provision of transport for sick or injured persons for fee or reward, or
(b) conduct for fee or reward any operations similar to the operations carried on by the Health Secretary under this Chapter,
without the consent of the Health Secretary and except in accordance with such conditions (if any) as the Health Secretary may from time to time impose.
These are not prohibitions on the use of the word ‘ambulance’ but having ‘ambulance’ on your vehicles could, I suppose, be used as evidence that you are committing one of these offences.
The Northern Territory and Western Australia
The Northern Territory and Western Australia have no relevant legislation.
Australian Emergency Law 
St John Ambulance has an exception in the legislation
What about a vehicle, in Victoria, operated by a volunteer Animal Rescue group, that has ANIMAL AMBULANCE written on both sides and across back door? Are they accidentally doing the wrong thing?
It’s correct that the prohibition on the use of the word ‘ambulance’ in Victoria does not apply to St John Ambulance nor does it prohibit the use ‘of the words “animal ambulance” on a vehicle owned or operated by a genuine animal welfare organization for the transport of sick or injured animals’ (s 39(2)).
Hi Michael,
What about s48 of the Ambulance Service Act 1991 (Qld) re: the word Ambulance on vehicle?
Good call, I missed that. I’ll change the post.
Hi Michael,
In a similar vein and maybe a little from left field, can the word ‘Practitioner’ be used indiscriminately or are there requirements that need to be satisfied before it may be used? There appears to be a difference in how the term is used within Nursing compared to Paramedicine.
The answer to this question, as with most questions, depends on context. There is no prohibition on the use of the word ‘practitioner’ – I can call myself a practitioner of reiki, a practitioner of the ‘dark arts’, an allied health practitioner etc. ‘Practitioner’ is not protected but when linked with some other words, it is. Protected titles under the Health Practitioner Regulation national law (s 113) include the following:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner, Aboriginal health practitioner, Torres Strait Islander health practitioner, Chinese medicine practitioner, Chinese herbal medicine practitioner, Oriental medicine practitioner, medical practitioner, medical radiation practitioner, midwife practitioner and nurse practitioner.
So ‘nurse practitioner’ is a protected title (as are the titles ‘nurse, registered nurse … [and] enrolled nurse’) so it makes sense that nurses choose to call themselves ‘nurse practitioner’. In paramedicine the only protected title is ‘paramedic’. ‘Paramedic practitioner’ is not listed as a title in the profession but there would be nothing to stop a paramedic describing him or herself that way if they wanted to, and given paramedic is a protected title, only a paramedic could use that description. But it certainly makes sense that in common practices nurses call themselves ‘nurse practitioner’ but paramedics as a general rule do not because that reflects the protected titles in the National Law.
Wow. Thanks Michael I wasn’t expecting such a quick response . Your comments have been really helpful. Thanks. again. Steve