Wellington Free Ambulance

Established in 1927, Wellington Free Ambulance (WFA) is proud to be the only FREE-to-the-patient ambulance service in a capital city in the Southern Hemisphere.

We are the sole provider of essential emergency medical services to all communities across the Wellington area and we are passionate about continuing to provide emergency care free to the patient. So much so that we are committed to working towards having an advanced life support paramedic on all our emergency vehicles, in order to achieve better outcomes for our patients.

We are an innovative service who moves with the times. Earlier this year, we brought a new Urgent Community Care pilot to the Kapiti Coast area of Wellington. This pilot is not just new to Wellington, but new to New Zealand. WFA is very proud to be the first New Zealand ambulance service to pioneer Urgent Community Care due to its importance to the future development of Ambulance Services and key health initiatives in New Zealand. Prior to this we initiated pre-hospital thrombolysis in 2002 – a first in Australasia!

We have a strong emphasis on continuing education for our paramedics and we operate extensive in-house training programmes to develop and grow the skill levels of all our staff. Our education team are engaged in running New Zealand’s premier paramedic degree programme, our own simulation suite and the development of web based learning modules for paramedics.

Employee benefits

At WFA we want to look after our staff. All permanent WFA employees are entitled to free income protection insurance, discounted health insurance as well as staff medicals and injections. Our Social Club also runs regular events throughout the year. WFA understands that staff may require assistance due to the demands of work activities and personal lives. We provide support through both our Peer Support Team and our Employee Assistance Programme. Assistance is provided at no cost to the employee and is totally confidential.

Locations

We have six main ambulance stations plus two bases covering Wellington city and the surrounding region. Our stations are in the following areas:

• Thorndon
• Newtown
• Porirua
• Paraparaumu
• Lower Hutt
• Upper Hutt.

Number of employees

We currently have over 200 people working as one WFA team for the benefit of the Wellington community.

We are made up of:

• Approximately 92 are frontline ambulance staff
• 45 volunteers
• 17 patient transfer officers
• 37 communications staff
• 43 managerial and support staff

Employment opportunities

If you are either a State Registered Paramedic or an experienced Emergency Care Practitioner, with a clean driver’s licence and excellent clinical and patient management skills, then Wellington Free is the place for you. Not only will you have the opportunity to work for a different ambulance service and share your skills and knowledge, but also to experience a totally new lifestyle in a fantastic city. To apply for either a Paramedic or Emergency Care Practitioner position at WFA, you must be eligible to gain a New Zealand work permit.