Since 1 July 2008, Ambulance Victoria has been the sole provider of emergency ambulance services in Victoria, having been formed from the merger of the three previous providers of emergency ambulance services: the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS), Rural Ambulance Victoria (RAV), and the Alexandra District Ambulance Service (ADAS).[1]
The MAS was responsible for Melbourne and its outer suburbs while RAV was responsible for regional and rural areas of Victoria, except for the Alexandra, Marysville, and Eildon areas, which was serviced by ADAS.[2]
All services of Ambulance Service Victoria operate under the Ambulance Services Act 1986. In addition, a number of non-emergency patient transport companies operate under the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Act 2003 and use conventional ambulances equipped with emergency lights and sirens, and sometimes attend emergency cases.