4 min read
CODE BLACKOUT: When Violence Becomes Routine, Silence Is Not an Option
Queensland hospitals are in crisis — not just from underfunding or overcrowding, but from violence.
Real, escalating,...
"Enough Is Enough"
Healthcare Workers Shouldn’t Be Punching Bags.
📣 Tell Your Story. Take the Survey. Help Us Fight Back.
Queensland's Healthcare Crisis
Every day, health professionals across Queensland are being punched, kicked, threatened, or abused — and far too often, they’re expected to shrug it off and carry on.
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9,298 violent incidents were reported between January and June 2024 — an average of 51 every day, up from 42/day in 2023
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A recent survey found nearly 70% of Queensland healthcare workers have either been assaulted or witnessed violence on the job.
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944 "Code Black" emergencies were called in just one quarter at Rockhampton Hospital — that’s 10 violent threats a day
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Between 2010 and 2016, Queensland Health reported 4,500 to 5,900 incidents annually. Now we’re seeing nearly that many in just three months
💬 You Deserve to Be Heard
From physical assaults and verbal abuse to daily intimidation, fear while walking to your car, or being left without backup during a crisis — this campaign is for you.
This is not part of the job.
This is a system failure.
📢 NPAQ need your voice to expose the truth.
Take Our 2-Minute Survey
This survey is your opportunity to:
✅ Share what you’ve experienced — or witnessed
✅ Tell us what safety really looks like
✅ Help us pressure Queensland Health and the State Government to act
We’re using your anonymous responses to:
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Continue our media blitz that exposes the scale of the problem
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Deliver hard data to politicians, journalists and hospital executives
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Demand real-world protections like dedicated security, safer facilities, and legal reform
Media
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Cairns Post - Healthcare workers call for armoured transport as vehicles are rocked
Healthcare workers in Far North Queensland are facing daily rock attacks from youths using high-powered slingshots, prompting discussions about the need for armoured or reinforced transport.
https://www.cairnspost.com.au/lifestyle/health/remote-health-workers-fear-for-their-lives-and-want-reinforced-vehicles-and-police-escorts/news-story/b8c41056bf7b7cb0c79393373d3dd051 -
Cairns Post - ‘People don’t see what happens’: Hospital staff speak out about safety concerns
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Cairns Post - Solution revealed for concerning safety trend at hospital
Cairns nurses continue to plead for safe parking and improved conditions amid growing safety concerns, while key stakeholders shift responsibility, each blaming the other.
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Cairns Post - ‘Significant financial consequences’: Nurse union issues warning to hospital
A nurses’ union has warned a Far North Queensland hospital failure to address staff parking issues could cost up to $90,000 if safety measures are not prioritised.
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Cairns Post - Safety issues outside Cairns Hospital exposed
Nurses in Cairns are on the verge of quitting their jobs due to ongoing safety concerns, feeling forced to choose between personal safety and parking fines.
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Courier Mail - Ninety seconds of terror: Watch a nurse walk ‘Rape Alley’
Watch as a terrified nurse walks “Rape Alley” to her car amid revelations of verbal, physical and sexual abuse outside hospital grounds.
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Courier Mail - Vow to protect nurses after chilling ‘rape alley’ video
A ‘90 seconds of terror’ video produced by The Sunday Mail exposing the extreme dangers facing nurses has sparked a plan for change.
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Courier Mail - Nurses still forced to run ‘rape alley’ gauntlet one year after alarm raised
Disturbing first-hand accounts of abuse, harassment and vandalism continue to be reported by terrified female nurses and workers at a major southeast hospital, a full year after they raised the alarm.
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4BC - Nurses are turning down night shifts due to fear of harassment walking to their cars
A new survey has revealed that Queensland nurses have been ditching night shifts because of verbal, physical and sexual harassment when they are walking to and from their cars after hours.
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Courier Mail - ‘Rape alley’: Union blasts safety for nurses at major SEQ hospital
Nurses feel so unsafe walking to their cars at night they try to avoid night shifts or move their cars closer during breaks. Their union says safety is such an issue one street has been dubbed “rape alley’’.
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Cairns Post - ‘People don’t see what happens’: Hospital staff speak out about safety concerns
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Cairns Post - Nurse assaulted outside hospital as security watches
A nurse has been violently attacked just metres from a Queensland hospital entrance as security watched on, unable to intervene as the attack was not on hospital grounds.
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Courier Mail - Bashed after work: Hospital security told not to help nurses
Staff at Ipswich Hospital have been told to walk home in pairs after three nurses were bashed metres from the emergency ward. Staff claim guards are ordered not to help outside the hospital.