General News
20 March, 2026
Cardiac arrest survival rates rise
VICTORIA remains the safest state in Australia to go into cardiac arrest with Ambulance Victoria (AV) initiatives equipping record numbers of community members with the skills to step in and take action to help save a life.
Victoria’s internationally comparable witnessed cardiac arrest survival rate (Utstein) has risen to 44.4 per cent - a nation-leading figure and second only to Denmark (50.2 per cent) worldwide.
The data has been revealed in AV’s Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) 2024-25 annual report.
The report shows paramedics responded to 7,550 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients over the year, with 477 patients surviving to hospital discharge.
AV director research and evaluation Dr Ziad Nehme said the increased survival rate reflects the impact of AV’s targeted cardiac arrest awareness and skill-building across Victorian communities.
“More than ever, the community is stepping in to help with cardiac arrest emergencies and this is no coincidence – it’s the result of years of AV’s targeted community education and community response initiatives,” Dr Nehme said.
“Over the past year, AV taught more than 29,000 people the life-saving skills of Call, Push, Shock, bringing us significantly closer to our ambition of training over 100,000 Victorians by 2028.
“Our Heart Safe Communities initiative, in partnership with the Heart Foundation, continues to expand, delivering life-saving skills and resources to communities across the state, such as dozens of new publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs).”
Dr Nehme said that on top of these AEDs, the GoodSAM program continues to boost access to early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation across Victoria, as does the introduction of the Fire Medical Response (FMR) program.
The FMR program aims to equip 50 CFA firefighter brigades to respond alongside AV paramedics and first responders to cardiac arrests in regional communities – with 39 brigades already on board.
In 2024-25, 152 cardiac arrest patients in Victoria received a shock from a public AED before paramedics arrived, which is the highest number on record.
When first shocked by a public AED, an incredible 63 per cent of cardiac arrest patients survived (almost two thirds) – a huge increase from 47 per cent in 2023-24.
Comparatively, only seven per cent survived when there was no bystander CPR or AED use.
There are now more than 10,819 active and registered AEDs in Victoria, with more than 8,243 of those publicly accessible.
AV executive director quality and clinical innovation Dr Tegwyn McManamny said AV continues to work towards the goals of its Cardiac Arrest Improvement Strategy 2023–2028.
“AV paramedics and first responders continue to make exceptional improvements in resuscitation care and quality, driven by the research and insights provided through the annual VACAR reports,” she said.
“Over the past year, we accelerated targeted improvements in system oversight, resuscitation practice and quality assurance, and improved access to cardiac arrest case data, supporting focused debriefing and continuous improvement for our highly-skilled crews on the road across Victoria.
“The improved patient outcomes we’re seeing are the result of deliberate, evidence-driven action and reaffirm AV as a global leader in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival.”
Since 1999, the VACAR has tracked, evaluated and strengthened every link in the cardiac arrest chain of survival and is among the most comprehensive cardiac arrest registries worldwide.
