End Of Era

After more than 25 years at Ambulance Victoria (AV), Director Emergency Management Justin Dunlop is trading the uniform for the suitcase as he begins retirement.

Some people are destined for a career in healthcare and that's certainly true for Justin who knew he wanted to help people from a young age.

"I was inspired to learn first aid at school and started with St John Ambulance when I was 10 years old," Justin said.

"I started as a cadet and lost count of the thousands of hours I spent helping the community. I then rose through the ranks at St John and finished up on the board.

"It started a long-term passion in first aid and pre-hospital care."

"In 1995, I got the bug to become a paramedic, applied and the rest is history."

A smiling man in a paramedic uniform.

Justin became a paramedic in 1996.

Justin became a paramedic for what was then known as the Metropolitan Ambulance Service in 1996 and received on the job training.

Back then, he thought he'd stay in the job for three to six years, but by 2000 he was team manager of his own branch in Caulfield and later became the project manager of the ambulance response for the Commonwealth Games.

That was only the start for Justin who, after moving to the Emergency Management Unit (EMU), went on to manage the ambulance response for other major events including Black Saturday, the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Summer and the October 2022 floods.

A man in front of a screen.

Justin was Team Manager of the Caulfield branch in 2000.

While each event brought a level of devastation for the community, Justin said they were also valuable learning experiences that helped grow AV's EMU.

"The brief is always the same - be prepared," he said.

"This role has really belted deadline into me and that you've just got to let go of any perfectionism.

"Each time there is an emergency event, we've learnt something that's helped us in the future. I think it's a credit to AV that the emergency management response plan has stood the test of time."

Justin is a wealth of knowledge about emergency management and has received honours such as the Ambulance Service Medal, National Service Medal and clasp, and National Emergency Medal for 2009 bushfires.

"While it's recognition of the work I've done, it's also a representation of hundreds of people doing thousands of hours of work," Justin said.

"I am a humble recipient and think it's the result of a lot of people doing fantastic things to help the community."

A man standing in front of a truck.

Emergency management was a significant part of Justin's AV career.

Justin hopes his legacy is inspiring people to pursue a career in the emergency management and multiagency space.

His advice for anyone interested - networking is key.

"When it comes to emergencies it doesn't stop at healthcare, it involves lots of other agencies too," Justin said.

"Emergency management is based on connection, it's all about the team.

"It's a role that provides diversity in work, the opportunity to reach out to other agencies, use specialist resources and make fundamental decisions about delivering care to the community."

AV Manager Consequence and Planning Brett Drummond has worked closely with Justin for years and said he had made long lasting contributions to AV.

"I have found Justin to be one of the most passionate people about emergency management that I've ever come across," he said.

"He certainly drives the team to think about how we do what we do and he's trying to build emergency management as a specialisation in ambulance.

"We'll miss him, his knowledge, experience and passion."

A smiling man.

After 28 years in ambulance Justin Dunlop has retired.

Looking ahead, Justin can't wait to travel the world with his wife, Bec, and spend more time pursuing his hobbies including model trains and computers.

Although the future is exciting, he said he will sincerely miss the role he is leaving behind.

"While I won't miss the midnight phone calls, I will truly miss my team and being able to say I am a paramedic with Ambulance Victoria," he said.

"The community do respect our workforce and being associated with an organisation such as AV is a privilege I am honoured to have had.

"I've loved my career - my 28 years in ambulance and many of them in EMU. I'm very grateful for all of it."

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