Union hits out at triple zero outage amid 'delays' to new system

Victoria's ambulance union has responded after last night's triple zero outage, saying it's just "another example" of the current computer system failing.

Premier Jacinta Allan confirmed a power outage that affected Victoria's triple zero emergency call system overnight is under investigation this morning.

In a statement, a Triple Zero Victoria spokesperson said despite the outage emergency calls from the community were continued to be taken "throughout a power issue that caused an unplanned outage of Computer Aided Dispatch system at 12.30am".

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"Usual backup measures were enacted to minimise impact to the community until CAD resumed normal operations, and the cause of the power issue is being investigated," the spokesperson said.

"Our staff are highly trained in Victoria's CAD backup procedures, which are consistent with all other Australian jurisdictions."

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill told 9news.com.au the existing CAD dispatchers and crews relied on had "been failing for some time".

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"It creates enormous frustration and enormous stress," he said.

Without the system online, he said dispatchers were "effectively blind", and couldn't tell what resources were closest to the emergency calls made.

It could result in a patient not getting the fastest treatment possible.

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Hill said he had been told a crew in Werribee overnight had been mistakenly told there was no intensive care backup nearby, and so transported the patient, a sick child, to hospital.

But there had been an IC crew nearby - which the dispatchers were unable to know due the outage.

Hill said there was a replacement system for the CAD currently being designed but its implementation had been delayed until mid-2027, a delay that had the union up in arms.

"In the meantime, this is just another example of (the CAD) failing," he said.

Allan was also queried on the outage this morning.

"I've not got any advice that there was any impact on the community," she said.

"If there is, of course that information will be updated over the course of today.

"The advice is that the call taking was not interrupted as a result of this power outage, because the backup protocols were quickly enacted."

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