FAMILIES ARE PAYING FOR LABOR'S BROKEN HEALTH SYSTEM
Family First Party
Jane Foreman - Family First Legislative Council Candidate
Key Facts:
KEY FACTS:
•Victoria’s surgery waitlist has reached 68,000+ — up 8,000 year-on-year and 4,103 in a single quarter, the biggest jump in 12 months.
•638 patients were added to critical Category 1 waitlists in the most recent quarter alone.
•Category 3 patients wait almost a year beyond the recommended timeframe; Category 2 patients wait nearly six months beyond the 90-day target.
•Patients in emergency for more than 24 hours has risen over 70% year-on-year, from 1,928 to 3,340.
•Only 66.4% of Code 1 ambulance callouts reach patients within 15 minutes — against an 85% target.
•In 2022 the Allan government committed $5 billion across 26 health pledges. Its $1.5 billion surgery blitz was found by the Auditor-General to have failed its own targets.
•Family First policy: real independently audited waitlist targets; ambulance funding tied to response outcomes; redirect Big Build waste to frontline health.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 May 2026
FAMILIES ARE PAYING FOR LABOR’S BROKEN HEALTH SYSTEM
Waitlists up 8,000 in a year. Ambulances missing targets. Emergency patients stranded for 24 hours. Jane Foreman says Victorian families deserve better — and Family First will deliver it.
Victoria’s surgery waitlist has ballooned to more than 68,000 — almost 8,000 more than a year ago and 4,000 more than last quarter, the biggest single-quarter jump in 12 months.
Behind that number is a parent waiting nearly a year beyond the recommended time for a hip replacement. A child still on a waitlist for a tonsillectomy. A heart valve patient waiting six months for surgery meant to be done in 90 days. These are real Victorians trapped in a system the Allan government has let fall apart — while it spends billions on a Suburban Rail Loop and lectures families about its “world-class care.”
“The Allan government has chosen its priorities. Billions for a rail loop. 68,000 Victorians waiting for surgery. Family First will choose families.”
The crisis extends beyond surgery. Just 66 per cent of Code 1 ambulance emergencies are reached within 15 minutes, against an 85 per cent target. Patients stranded in emergency departments for more than 24 hours has skyrocketed over 70 per cent year-on-year. This is the same government that in 2022 committed $5 billion across 26 health pledges — a blitz the Auditor-General later found failed its own targets.
“Every policy decision has a human cost. When you underfund hospitals, that cost lands on a family waiting for surgery their loved one needs. Family First will always count that cost before we act.”
Family First’s Jane Foreman is calling for real, independently audited surgical waitlist targets, ambulance funding tied to response outcomes, and an end to the waste that drains money from frontline services Victorian families actually need.
“I meet families every week who are doing everything right — and still can’t get their mum into surgery or an ambulance in time. That’s not their failure. That’s a failure of government. And it’s exactly why I’m running.”
“A world-class health system is not a luxury. It is what every Victorian family deserves. Family First will fix it.”
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About us:
About Family First
Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
