CODE BLACKOUT: Victoria’s Hospital Crisis Has Gone Too Far

Every nurse and midwife in Victoria knows what it means to finish a shift with your heart racing — not because of patient care, but because you’re walking to your car in the dark, alone, with no protection.

We are launching CODE BLACKOUT across Victoria because our hospitals are not safe. Not inside. Not outside. And not for the people doing the work that keeps this state alive.

In Queensland, our sister union NPAQ has already forced change — car park expansions, shuttle services, and hospital management being dragged into the light. But here in Victoria, despite countless Code Greys and Code Blacks, the silence continues.

We are done waiting.

A State in Denial, A Frontline in Crisis

Every shift, Victorian health workers are spat on, kicked, cornered, or screamed at. In emergency departments, in stairwells, in the very places designed to care for people.

But what’s worse is what happens next — nothing.

Most incidents go unreported. When they are reported, they’re downgraded. Staff are told to file online, follow up themselves, and “manage the risk.” In the meantime, they walk to their cars with keys between their fingers because management refuses to pay for lighting or security to walk them out.

We’ve heard it all:

“A patient threatened to rape me. They wrote it up as a ‘minor harm.’”
“We begged for cameras. Still nothing.”
“Security just says they can’t help outside the front doors.”

This isn’t isolated. It’s systemic. And it’s breaking people.

We Need CODE BLACKOUT — Because Code Grey Isn’t Working

Victorian hospitals are on life support. And frontline staff are paying the price.

That’s why NPAV is launching CODE BLACKOUT — a state-wide campaign to force action, expose the truth, and demand protection for the people who protect everyone else.

What We’re Fighting For

🛡 Hospital-Based Police Officers (HBPOs)

• Police officers embedded in high-risk hospitals
• Security authority to intervene inside and outside hospital grounds
• Trained in trauma response and de-escalation

🏥 Community-Elected Hospital Boards

• Real accountability to local communities
• Fast, public responses to safety failures

🚨 Mandatory Public Reporting of Violence

• Code Blacks, Code Greys, and physical assaults must be published monthly
• No more hiding behind risk management teams

🚗 Safe, Secure, Affordable Car Parking for All Staff

• Enough is enough — no nurse or midwife should fear getting to or from their shift

Queensland Is Proving It Can Be Done

This isn’t hypothetical. This is already happening — just not in Victoria.

In Cairns, NPAQ members forced hospital executives to commit to:

• 100 new staff car parks
• A larger shuttle service
• Long-term parking infrastructure upgrades
• Better lighting and patrols

These wins are real. And they started exactly like this — with staff speaking up.

What You Can Do Right Now

This campaign starts with your voice.

📣 Take the 2-minute survey now:
👉 https://npav.redunion.com.au/occupational-violence-campaign

📢 Post the link in your group chats.
📲 Share on social media with #CodeBlackout and tag @NPAVictoria.
🗣 Tell one colleague: “I’m in. Are you?”

We Draw the Line Here

CODE BLACKOUT is not a slogan. It’s a stand.

• It is not normal to be punched at work.
• It is not legal to deny safety in the car park.
• It is not moral to ignore the voices of nurses and midwives on the edge.

We are the professionals who heal this state.
And now we are demanding protection.

We are in CODE BLACKOUT until Victoria takes our safety seriously.

Kara Thomas
President – Nurses’ Professional Association of Australia (NPAA)
📞 1300 263 374
🌐 npav.redunion.com.au