‘The gathering contravened Victorian Covid-19 restrictions’: Acting Ambulance Victoria CEO Andrew Crisp

A secret send-off with up to 40 guests was held for an Ambulance Victoria paramedic in September 2021, despite Covid bans at the time strictly limiting the number of people at any funeral to 10.

The serious funeral breach was allegedly approved by senior Ambulance Victoria management. Picture: Stephen Harman

A secret send-off for an Ambulance Victoria paramedic in breach of strict Covid rules has been exposed as part of an ongoing inquiry into the beleaguered agency.

A submission to the parliament’s inquiry into Ambulance Victoria has blown the whistle on an illegal funeral held at the time millions of Victorians were enduring one of the world’s longest lockdowns.

Acting CEO Andrew Crisp — who was not in charge at the time — has admitted that staff held the illegal gathering in September 2021 while Victorians were locked in their homes at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time strict curfew conditions and a 10-person limit at funerals were in place, denying Victorians the chance to farewell loved ones surrounded by family and friends.

The serious breach was allegedly approved by senior Ambulance Victoria management in a move that prompted a referral to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and an internal Ambulance Victoria inquiry, the findings of which have been kept secret.

In a submission to the Victorian Parliament’s inquiry into Ambulance Victoria it has been alleged the funeral was actively supported by senior managers, and approved by the CEO.

Attendees included paramedics of various roles including the Ambulance Victoria commander, area managers, clinical support officers, and the Pipes and Drums Band.

During Victoria’s lockdowns there was a strict cap on how many people could attend a funeral service. Picture: Penny Stephens

“On-shift paramedics (despite their objections to the funeral event) were directed to rearrange ambulances for the event and to hand over the keys to their ambulances to allow the beacons to be turned on for the hearse,” the submission alleges.

“The location was chosen ‘to avoid public eyes’, according to the email chain organising the event.”

It has been alleged up to 40 people attended the funeral with a warning “placed by the communications centre on an ambulance vehicle to ensure they would not be dispatched to a patient while travelling from the west”.

“The public was expected to abide by the public health restrictions and people were unable to go to their loved one’s funerals,” the submission said.

“Many staff were distressed by the event, their wellbeing was significantly impacted, and morale plummeted.”

Mr Crisp did not dispute any of the allegations in the submission.

“Ambulance Victoria is aware of a funeral gathering that regrettably took place during a challenging time for all Victorians,” he said.

“The gathering contravened Victorian Covid-19 restrictions and was not in line with AV’s values or our commitment to public safety and community trust.

“We continue to engage with the Legal and Social Issues Committee Inquiry with a genuine desire to improve our workplace and the services we provide.”

Andrew Crisp admitted the gathering took place. Picture: Sarah Matray

On Thursday, Premier Jacinta Allan slammed the decision to hold the send-off, saying Victorians had every right to be angry.

“This incident was entirely inappropriate,” Ms Allan said.

“I can understand members of the community being really frustrated by these reports.

“Covid was a tough time – many Victorians were working very hard to follow the rules.”

Meanwhile, Ambulance Union boss Danny Hill said the gathering was held following a formal funeral and accused Ambulance Victoria management of a major cover-up.

“This event was attended by the most senior levels of AV management including the COVID Commander and Chief Paramedic Officer, who were both heavily involved in enforcing the COVID rules, as well as Executive Directors, Regional Directors and Area Managers,” he said.

“I have no doubt that AV were trying to do the right thing by the paramedic, their family and the workforce.

“If it is established that AV did the wrong thing under the COVID rules, then they just need to be open and transparent about it.

“There is no question that the organisation tried to cover this up after the fact by trying to scapegoat an individual who performed an administrative role in organising some of the logistics for the event.

“It’s so typical of AV to throw an individual under the bus rather than take accountability.”

Eight-year-old Cooper Onyett drowned in a pool at Belfast Aquatics in Port Fairy.

In a fiery press conference following the revelations, Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the people involved were no longer employed at Ambulance Victoria.

However she repeatedly refused to confirm whether they were fired or if their exit from the agency was due to the incident.

“What happened was completely and utterly unacceptable, and I made that very clear, and I’m also confident that the people that were involved in this unacceptable behaviour are no longer at Ambulance Victoria, and that’s the end of my commentary on this,” she said.

Ms Thomas also repeatedly refused to reveal when she was first made aware of the debacle, saying she was not the minister at the time.

‘There’s no excuse’

Ambulance Victoria has said a funeral gathering held during Covid was not considered a “police matter” despite admitting it breached the lockdown restrictions that were in place.

AV people and culture executive director Jesse Maddison, who did not work for AV at the time of the incident, fronted the media on Thursday after it was exposed by the Herald Sun and said he “profoundly” regrets the event.

“It was wrong and there’s no excuse for what occurred,” he said.

“I’m very confident that if similar circumstances existed, the same outcome would not occur.

“We have a very different CEO, and the executive leadership team is very different to what was in place in 2021.”

Mr Maddison said he “would assume” then chief executive Tony Walker was aware it took place but was unable to answer key questions at the tense press conference – including which senior staff members attended and whether anyone lost their job as a result.

“Ambulance Victoria investigated the matter in accordance with our policies and procedures,” he said.

“I can’t go into further details in relation to [disciplinary action and job losses] but I can say that senior leaders who were decision makers at the time were no longer working at Ambulance Victoria when the investigations commenced after the matter was referred back [to AV] from IBAC.

“IBAC believed that there was not any corrupt conduct.”

When asked if Ambulance Victoria referred the incident to police, Mr Maddison said: “I’m not aware that it was deemed to be a police matter for their involvement”.

“I don’t believe there was any intention to cover the matter up,” he said.

He did not commit to releasing the results of Ambulance Victoria’s investigation to the public, citing confidentiality, but said they would co-operate “fully” with the parliamentary inquiry.

Following repeated questions, Mr Maddison confirmed that ambulances attended the guard of honour but said there was no impact to “community safety” and the organisation has “more ambulances than are required to be on the road at any one time”.

“My understanding is that the paramedics who attended were not on duty and the ambulances were offline.”

Among the many Victorians denied the opportunity to gather to mourn their loved ones as a result of the harsh restrictions was the family of eight-year-old Cooper Onyett, who drowned while on a school camp in May 2021.

His heartbroken mother Skye Meinen told the Herald Sun at the time she was “shattered” by the government’s “11th-hour” decision, which stopped the family from hosting a larger service in their regional home town of Warrnambool – where Covid cases had remained much lower compared to metropolitan areas.

The fallen Victorian Police officers killed in the tragic eastern freeway crash were also laid to rest in four separate funerals with caps on the number of mourners allowed at each.

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney died when a drugged driver behind the wheel of a refrigeration truck ploughed into the back of their vehicles in April 2020.

The funeral for Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor. Picture: AAP

Constable Josh Prestney’s casket taken into the chapel at Xavier College before his funeral. Picture: Getty

Family, friends and colleagues were forced to watch the emotional services via livestream.

A larger state memorial was held for the officers at Marvel Stadium in 2022 following the lifting of restrictions.

Shadow health spokesperson, Georgie Crozier, said Victorians deserved full transparency over revelations of the paramedic’s secret send-off.

“Victorians can quite rightly be extremely disappointed with these breaches given the draconian measures that the Labor Government imposed on the rest of us,” she said.

“AV needs to release in full the report into the investigation they undertook.

“Victorians deserve to understand why this occurred, and what action was taken.”

Originally published as ‘The gathering contravened Victorian Covid-19 restrictions’: Acting Ambulance Victoria CEO Andrew Crisp