A decision by St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne to fast-track Indigenous patients in its emergency department has ignited a fierce public backlash, with critics including prominent Indigenous leader Nyunggai Warren Mundine labelling the move as divisive, discriminatory, and contrary to the principles of equal treatment in healthcare.
Under the new directive, all Indigenous patients presenting at St Vincent’s emergency department are automatically classified as “Category Three”, guaranteeing treatment within 30 minutes of arrival. This means that their care can take precedence over non-Indigenous patients with less urgent conditions, regardless of individual medical need.
The hospital claims the policy is designed to close the gap in emergency care outcomes, after internal research revealed Indigenous patients were waiting longer to be seen compared to other groups. Yet critics argue that this approach replaces one form of inequality with another.
“This is where governments try and do nice things and you wind up with idiot policies,” said Mr Mundine, a long-time Indigenous advocate and campaigner against the Voice to Parliament. “We aren’t asking for that. We’re asking to be treated like everyone else. It should be about need, not race.”
Mr Mundine, who was treated at St Vincent’s himself following a heart attack in 2012, said the only priority should be clinical urgency. “When I told them I had chest pain, they rushed me through immediately. That is how triage should work, on symptoms, not skin colour.”
Despite widespread outrage, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has thrown her full support behind the policy, calling it a “good example” of healthcare leadership and an effort to achieve “better outcomes for vulnerable groups.”
“The issue being addressed here is recognising that First Peoples have poorer outcomes and have been waiting longer to be treated,” Ms Allan said. “When you have better outcomes for everyone, that’s good for our strong, healthy community.”
However, many Victorians disagree. A Herald Sun poll showed an overwhelming 95 per cent of respondents opposed to the move, with widespread concern that prioritising treatment on racial grounds undermines both fairness and trust in the state’s healthcare system.
Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier, a former nurse, described the policy as “discriminatory and chaotic,” warning that it could fracture public confidence and complicate emergency department operations. “Triage is about risk assessment, not race,” Ms Crozier said. “You don’t judge a patient’s priority based on the colour of their skin.”
Critics have also questioned the practicality of the directive, asking how staff are expected to verify Indigenous identity at triage and warning that such measures risk creating further division. “It’s not only dividing our health system but setting it up for chaos,” Ms Crozier said.
The move has also reignited debate over the Allan Government’s broader Indigenous agenda, with many linking the St Vincent’s policy to the state’s forthcoming Treaty legislation. Despite polling showing that only 37 per cent of Victorians support the Treaty, the government appears determined to press ahead, a move many see as deepening social and political divides.
Online commentary has been scathing, with hundreds of Victorians expressing outrage that healthcare access could now be influenced by race. “It’s not ‘reverse racism,’ it’s just racism,” one commenter wrote. Another added: “We voted down the Voice to avoid this exact kind of division.”
Even among those sympathetic to efforts to improve Indigenous health outcomes, there is concern that race-based prioritisation risks fuelling resentment rather than reconciliation.
For Mr Mundine, the policy does more harm than good. “It damages reconciliation and creates resentment. Equality means being treated the same as everyone else, not being put in a separate queue.”
While St Vincent’s maintains the policy has had “no negative impact” on overall emergency access or patient flow, the backlash suggests otherwise. With near-universal public opposition and growing calls for clarity from other hospitals, the issue has become a flashpoint in Victoria’s ongoing debate over equality, fairness, and the future of race-based policy in public institutions.
As Victoria’s Treaty Bill moves closer to passing, many Victorians are left questioning whether St Vincent’s “initiative” is an isolated decision or an early sign of what is to come.
