Opposition Pans Hospital for Giving Aboriginal Patients 30-Minute Treatment Priority

Aboriginal patients presenting to Melbourne’s St Vincent’s are given a ‘category 3’ priority, meaning they need to be treated within 30 minutes.A man waving the Aboriginal flag at a NAIDOC march in Melbourne, Australia on July 6, 2018. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images10/29/2025|Updated: 10/29/2025Former nurse and now-shadow health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier has called hospital rules designed to prioritise Indigenous emergency patients divisive.Recent reports revealed that the inner-city St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne issued a staff directive in April 2024 to fast-track care for all Indigenous patients presented to the emergency department.Crystal-Rose Jones is a reporter based in Australia. She previously worked at News Corp for 16 years as a senior journalist and editor.Author’s Selected Articles