LifeFlight Australia is an aero-medical organisation headquartered in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. Until July 2016, it was known as CareFlight, but was renamed to avoid confusion with the

CareFlight CareFlight is an air medical service headquartered in Westmead, New South Wales, Australia. History CareFlight was founded in Sydney, Australia in May 1986 as an aeromedical charity. Its mission is to save lives, speed recovery ...

organisation headquartered in New South Wales. Over 62,000 Critical Rescues have been completed since 1979.

History

In 1981 the Gold Coast Helicopter Rescue Service was established on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

by Ashley van de Velde to provide rapid rescue services on the Gold Coast beaches and hinterland via helicopter. In 1992 under the new name of CareFlight Group QLD Limited, the rescue services were expanded to cover southern Queensland and northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In 1993, the

Royal Automobile Club of Queensland The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a mutual organisation and Queensland’s largest Club, providing services including roadside assistance, insurance, banking and travel to its approximately 1.75 million members. RACQ is ...

sponsored the service with naming rights so the service became known as RACQ CareFlight. CMS Air Ambulance Bombardier Learjet 45 DRW Butler

In 2013 former

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

Rob Borbidge Robert Edward Borbidge (born 12 August 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as the 35th Premier of Queensland from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party, and was the last member of that p ...

became chairman of Careflight.

Clive Berghofer Clive John Berghofer (born 4 March 1935) is an Australian property developer, politician and philanthropist. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, Alderman and Mayor of Toowoomba. Early life Clive Berghofer was born on 4 May 1 ...

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

has been a generous benefactor of the organisation. By 2014, he had donated $1 million over 10 years.Katrina Strickland, 'Giving It Away: Clive Berghofer', ''The Australian Financial Review Magazine: The Wealth Issue'', July 2014, p. 30 His contribution is recognised by naming the organisation's hangar at Toowoomba City Aerodrome after him and the helicopter that operates from Toowoomba. On 11 July 2016, Rob Borbidge, chairman of CareFlight, announced that the organisation would be renamed LifeFlight to avoid confusion with a similar organisation CareFlight New South Wales. The organisation would be renamed LifeFlight.

RACQ The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a mutual organisation and Queensland’s largest Club, providing services including roadside assistance, insurance, banking and travel to its approximately 1.75 million members. RACQ is ...

remain the major naming rights sponsor of the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service.

Bases

Australia:

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passeng ...

Archerfield Airport Archerfield can refer to: *Archerfield, Queensland Archerfield is a mixed-use southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Archerfield had a population of 544 people. Geography Archerfield is bounded by Oxley Cree ...

Sunshine Coast Airport Sunshine Coast Airport (formerly Maroochydore Airport) is an Australian international airport located at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and approximately north of centre of Brisbane, within South East Queensland agglomeration. I ...

, Toowoomba Airport,

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Mount Isa Airport Mount Isa Airport is an airport serving the western Queensland city of Mount Isa, Australia. It is served by a variety of scheduled regional airlines, with flights to Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns as well as several other regional centres. T ...

Singapore:

Seletar Airport Seletar Airport is a civilian international airport serving the north-east region of Singapore. It is located approximately northwest from Changi Airport, the country's main airport, and about north from the main commercial city-centre. T ...

Subsidiaries

''RACQ LifeFlight Rescue:'' LifeFlight Australia is most commonly known for its subsidiary

LifeFlight Rescue which is a non for profit community rescue service utilising Rotary and Fixed Wing aircraft. The service runs off generous donations and large government supported funding. The aircraft are generally staffed by a Pilot, Aircrew Officer, Intensive care flight paramedic or nurse and

Queensland Health Queensland Health is the name of the overall public health service in the state of Queensland, Australia. Like all other states and territories in Australia, the Queensland Government provides low- or no-cost primary, secondary, and tertiary ...

Critical Care Doctor. The Primary Sponsor is

a motoring club and mutual organisation, providing roadside assistance, insurance, travel, finance and other services. ''LifeFlight Commercial:'' In close conjunction with Starflight this is the commercial arm of LifeFlight and provides; Program management, Contract Management and oversight, Stakeholder engagement, Performance management, Support services (Ie: Finance/HR etc), Communications Media/Marketing. ''LifeFlight Training Academy:'' This is a training arm of LifeFlight which completes training of Aircrews for operations in the aviation industry, located at

the facility is home to Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET), a full size

THALES Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including VI ...

Simulator, indoor pool, VR Simulators both Medical and Aircrew as-well as classrooms. ''LifeFlight Air Ambulance:'' The Fixed Wing arm of the fleet consisting of

Learjet 45 The Learjet 45 (LJ45) aircraft is a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace. The Model 45 was the first all-new design since the original Learjet, and significantly altered the Learjet line. Throug ...

's and

Bombardier Challenger 600 The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets developed by Canadair after a Bill Lear concept, and then produced from 1986 by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace. At the end of 1975, Canadair began funding the developmen ...

conducting domestic and international aeromedical missions they are crewed by a Captain, First Officer, Critical Care Doctor and a Flight Nurse. The Jets are commonly used by insurance companies and for use on behalf of

Fleet

Current Fleet

As of October 2022, the LifeFlight Australia fleet consists of the following aircraft:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:LifeFlight Australia Air ambulance services in Australia Health charities in Australia Medical and health organisations based in Queensland