The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service operates in six
states in Australia. The Northern NSW and Tasmania Service is contracted to fly helicopters with on-board
specialist doctors and
paramedics. In
New South Wales, there are five operation bases and a total of six rescue aircraft.
Westpac 1, 2, 3, 4 are spread across 3 bases;
Lake Macquarie Airport Newcastle,
Airport,
Airport. The 4 aircraft rotate between these bases covering
Newcastle/Hunter to
South East Queensland. In
Sydney,
Lifesaver 21 is based;
Lifesaver 23 is based in
Moruya both aircraft are operated by Helistar. With support of major sponsor, Westpac, Greater Sydney opened a summer-time base at Moruya Airport in December 2010 for three months. A total of 67 missions were achieved in the first season. The previous Labor Government provided funding for Sydney to return to all-hours operations (from 1 October 2011) and the south coast service would become a year-round, day-time operation (from 1 December 2011). Southern now operates two bases covering from the Central Coast to the Victorian border. In
Queensland, the Service patrols the
southeast coast, performing beach patrols, search & rescue, shark sightings and warnings and provides assistance to Surf Lifesavers in the water and on the beach, utilising VH-NVG, a
Eurocopter EC135 P2+, and VH-SLQ, also an EC135 P2+. The service also operates two helicopters on behalf of
Queensland Police (VH-NVF and VH-POF), both EC-135s. In 2020 former Westpac-branded helicopter VH-NVF was removed from service to be transitioned to operate as
Polair, and was replaced by VH-SLQ. In late 2021 Surf Lifesaving Queensland took delivery of former 4 from NSW Police (VH-POF) for modernisation of the current QPS fleet towards a
Eurocopter EC135 P2 operation. NVG and SLQ are switched between Lifesaver 45 and Lifesaver 46 depending on operational requirements and engine hours. The Service formerly operated 3
MBB Bo 105s as Polair 1-3. SLSQ now operates 3 Bell429's on contract for Queensland Police. In
Victoria, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter provides an aerial surveillance service, which currently consists of
Lifesaver 30 and
Lifesaver 31. The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter conducts regular patrols and undertakes rescue missions across Victoria. The service works closely with the volunteer beach patrols, paid lifeguards, and offshore services, and is readily available to assist other emergency services and government agencies. The service undertakes community education and promotional activities throughout the year and will be available all hours for call-outs. Life Saving Victoria also works closely with the police air-wing and marine rescue units which enables the fastest response to emergency calls. In
Tasmania, the Service provides emergency services and has a contract with
Ambulance Tasmania as well as the
Tasmanian Police. In
South Australia, Service helicopters patrol beaches on weekends, public holidays and busy weekdays over summer from November through to March each year. Its patrolling region is the Adelaide mid-south coastline from to , and the South Coast from Parsons Beach to the
Murray Mouth, including ,
Port Elliot, and . It works together with other Surf Lifesaving support services, including
Lifesaver 2 and
Lifesaver 3, the state Jet Rescue Boats. The Service launched operations in
Western Australia in December 2008 at Rous Head, Fremantle with patrols beaches on weekends, public holidays and busy weekdays over the summer months. It now operates two helicopters: Perth Metropolitan Service and South West Service. The Perth Metropolitan Service patrols from Mandurah to Yanchep and out to Rottnest Island. The Perth Service operates on weekends in September and daily from October to April. The South West Service started in 2013 at Busselton Regional Airport and patrols the areas between Bunbury and Hamelin Bay. It is operational from September to April on Weekends, public holidays and school holidays.
Flight crew Search and rescue (SAR) and surveillance: The flight crew usually consists of one pilot (or two pilots on varying aircraft), one air crew officer, and one rescue swimmer. The crews consist of both paid and volunteer positions. Aeromedical: Besides pilots, there are several specialist crew members. The air crewman assists the pilot with communication; navigation; and landing by providing the pilot with accurate clearance; helicopter safety; and operating the rescue winch. A rescue crewman's duties include going down the winch, scaling cliff faces, and swimming. Rescue crew are also responsible for passenger safety during Passenger Transport Operations. Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT) paramedics possess skills in
intensive care/Advance Life Support (ALS) and trauma management; and have skills in accessing and treating patients in difficult or remote locations. SCATs work closely with the local accredited rescue units to access, assess, triage, and treat patients. When required, SCATs may also provide assistance with the extrication of the patient. They provide patient care and are responsible for preparing the aeromedical evacuation missions, coordinating with the flight crew and other medical personnel, as well as liaising with retrieval services. Doctors specially qualified in Emergency Care and retrieval medicine are also part of the team. This enables the crew to provide critical care to patients anywhere it is needed.
Aircraft The following aircraft, bases and coverage summarise the activities of the Service: Newcastle, Lismore, Tamworth are part of the Westpac operations but fall under the name Westpac Northern Region Rescue Helicopter service. They operate 24/7 using 5
AgustaWestland AW139. The Sydney and South Coast operation replaced the 2 existing
MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 with new upgraded versions operated by Helistar during 2020. The Victoria service saw the addition of Lifesaver 31 in the 2020/21 season, as a dedicated surveillance aircraft equipped with high definition cameras and a FLIR device. The Queensland Sunshine Coast Helicopter VH-NVH, a
MBB Bo 105 was removed from service July 2020 for transition to
Queensland Police operations (Polair), replaced by VH-NVF, a
Eurocopter EC135 P2. NVH has since been retired from SLSQ entirely, with NVF transitioning to Police operations, replaced by VH-NVG
Currently in use Formerly operated •
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin •
MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 •
Cessna 337G Super Skymaster •
Bell 412 •
MBB Bo 105 •
Bell 206 Long Ranger •
Bell 407 Helicopter emergency medical service in New South Wales Since the 1970s helicopters have been part of the fleet of
NSW Ambulance. The
SLSA-owned Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service (WLSRHS) started receiving NSW Government funding for its service in 1978; with funding and tasking arrangements put in place in 1989. By 2006 there were nine helicopters operating across the state. Reviews commissioned by NSW Ambulance during 2004 and 2005 identified a number of systemic weaknesses with the services provided by both the WLSHRS and by
CareFlight, No interstate operations were affected by the change in contract. A summary of the outcome of the competitive tendering process is set out below: The decision to appoint a for profit corporation to deliver the service, in lieu of not-profit entities, drew considerable media, community, and political attention. As a result, the
NSW Auditor-General was instructed to deliver a performance audit of the helicopter emergency medical services contract process and whether satisfactory outcomes for Greater Sydney were delivered under awarding the contract to CHC. Reporting in 2010, he found that: Ahead of the publication of the Auditor-General's report, it was reported in December 2009 that CHC were seeking to sell its Australian air services arm, following a series of mishaps including engine failures, windows falling out of the aircraft, no installed air conditioning system inside the cabin as well as response delays to accident sites. • The helicopter retrieval fleet will be standardised to two types of helicopters for the State, and new helicopters will be phased in as part of the procurement and implementation process for longer contract terms of between 7 – 10 years; • NSW Health will structure helicopter contracts around two regions within NSW so that each region has one operator, including options for consortia arrangements. In December 2014, it was announced that the partnership of the Northern Region SLSA and the Hunter Region SLSA had been successful in the NSW Aeromedical Retrieval Network tender. As a result, the service would re-equip with
AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters from early 2017 to be operated from bases the existing base in Tamworth as well as upgraded bases in Lismore and Newcastle The first of four
AgustaWestland AW139 arrived at the Newcastle Westpac Rescue base on 10 June 2016. ==See also==