Victorian election, 28 November 2026
Victoria built a system to find avoidable harm in its hospitals. It is being worn down.
Ten years ago, the Djerriwarrh tragedy led Victoria to rebuild its patient-safety system: the Targeting Zero review, Safer Care Victoria and the Victorian Agency for Health Information. Since then, successive budget cuts and restructures have worn that system down. An election is the moment when every party can be asked, in public and on the record, what it will do to rebuild and sustain it.
The system in four numbers
- 26%
- of 217 sentinel events in 2024–25 were notified within the required three business days (Safer Care Victoria).
- 79 and 106
- average business days to complete reviews, against standards of 50 and 75 (Safer Care Victoria).
- About 250
- fewer Department of Health positions by June 2027 (2,279 to 2,029 FTE), with savings targets of $96.6m and $108.1m (Department of Health questionnaire).
- $380.9m
- public hospital medical indemnity premium in 2025–26, up 26.4% (VMIA).
The same questions for every party
The same letter and the same questions have gone to the government, the Opposition, The Nationals and the Victorian Greens. Every answer will be published word for word. Where no reply is received, this site will say so.