- Published:
- Monday 26 May 2025
The Allan Labor Government is improving safety across Victoria’s health system – with thousands of Victorians already benefiting from work to enhance patient care as part of the landmark 100,000 Lives Program.
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas today welcomed the release of the latest progress update on the 100,000 Lives Program, which shows clear improvements in patient outcomes across the state’s health services.
Established in 2021, the 100,000 Lives Program is a partnership between Safer Care Victoria and health services to enhance safety, reduce avoidable harm and address disparities – particularly in regional and diverse communities.
The initiative also aims to alleviate pressure on acute care services by focusing on the delivery of preventive care, cost-effective interventions and empowers health services and individual clinicians to continually learn, innovate, improve and contribute to sustainable change.
Almost 70,000 Victorians have already had better care experiences since the program began – including more than 18,400 people in the past year alone.
Key highlights of the 100,000 Lives Program 2023-24 report include:
Safer maternity care for 13,500 mothers, including better early recognition and improved responses to postpartum haemorrhages and pre-term births
Safer cardiac care for 2,770 Victorians, including virtual care and improving access to specialist care in regional Victoria
Safer antibiotic use for 800 patients, by removing low-risk penicillin allergy labels on medicines, ensuring first-choice antibiotics aren’t overlooked for use due to low-risk allergies.
Made possible via a $58.34 million investment from the Labor Government, the 100,000 Lives Program uses data-driven insights and is co-designed with health services, clinicians and consumers to ensure improvements are practical, targeted and patient-focused.
By focusing on system-wide collaboration, the program means that what works well in one part of Victoria can be shared and scaled across the entire health system.
The Labor Government continues to invest in the people delivering this work, growing Victoria’s public healthcare workforce by nearly 50 per cent over the past decade – with more than 40,000 additional nurses, midwives, doctors, allied health professionals and hospital staff now working in the state’s health services.
For more information, please visit safercare.vic.gov.au/publications/100000-lives-impact-report-2023-24.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas
“Every Victorian deserves safe, high-quality care – no matter where they live or who they are. That’s exactly what the 100,000 Lives program is delivering.”
“These results are proof that when we empower and back our health services and workforce with the right tools and support, we can improve outcomes for thousands of Victorians.”