New ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) chief officer David Dutton. Photo: Emergency Services Agency (ESA).
The new boss of the ACT’s Ambulance Service (ACTAS) comes with quite the CV.
David Dutton formally starts his job as Chief Officer of ACTAS on 12 May with not only a Bravery Medal (BM) and Australian Service Medal (ASM) to his name, but also experiences that include the 2003 Canberra bushfire and the 2014 Lindt Café siege.
He fills the shoes of Howard Wren, who retired from the role earlier this year after 51 years working as a paramedic in both ACT and rural NSW.
The Emergency Services Agency (ESA), which manages ACTAS on behalf of the ACT Government, says Dutton’s appointment was the result of a “competitive nationwide recruitment”.
The agency describes his career as coming “full circle”, with Dutton starting as a student paramedic with ACTAS in 1996.
After qualifying as an Intensive Care Paramedic, he worked for ACTAS in road and aeromedical operations, clinical education, emergency operations, operational support and senior executive management roles including deputy chief officer and acting chief officer.
During this time, he was awarded the Bravery Medal for his frontline response to the 1998 Sydney-Hobart yacht race disaster.
David Dutton worked with the NSW Ambulance Service between 2013 and 2025. Photo: Emergency Services Agency (ESA).
Documents from the Governor-General’s office note how he was on the South Care helicopter south east of Merimbula that answered the distress call on 28 December 1998.
“On reaching the location, Mr Dutton observed waves up to 60 feet in height swamping the yacht and three men on the deck,” the document reads.
“After one yachtsman was seen to jump into the sea and be swept away from the vessel by the heavy swell, the helicopter crew signalled to the other yachtsmen to use the life raft. Mr Dutton was then winched into the sea and, with great difficulty, reached the yachtsman in the water and secured the rescue strop around him.”
“Once aboard [the helicopter], Mr Dutton medically assessed the yachtsman and administered first aid. Mr Dutton, despite battling exhaustion, continued the rescue mission, taking it in turns with another paramedic to be winched back in the water until four more yachtsmen were rescued.”
Dutton also served as “operational commander” during the 2003 Canberra bushfires.
In 2013, he moved across to the NSW Ambulance Service in the role of executive director of service delivery, before rising through the ranks to deputy commissioner and executive director of clinical operations, putting him in charge of the team that answered more than 1.2 million triple-zero calls a year.
He helped manage the emergency response to the Lindt Café Siege in Sydney in 2014, as well as multiple floods and bushfires across NSW, and the COVID pandemic.
Dutton is fresh back to the ACT this year, starting the role of Assistant Commissioner of Collaboration, Community Engagement and Intelligence Support within the ESA in January.
He’s “honoured and humbled” to take this month’s promotion.
“It is quite the full-circle moment to return to lead the service where my career started,” he said in a statement.
“Although I’ve worked in NSW for the past 12 years, the ACT has always been the place that my family has called home. I think it is a beautiful place to live, filled with a wonderful community that I am proud to once again serve.
“The reason I became a paramedic was to help people during their time of need, and I look forward to continuing to do so as chief. I am excited to start in the role and look forward to working with the Commissioner and government to lead ACTAS forward into the future.”
ACT Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Dr Marisa Paterson said she was grateful to have someone with such a “wealth of experience” re-joining ACTAS.
“The ACT Ambulance Service is made up of well-respected and hard-working individuals, and I am pleased to see the new Chief Ambulance Officer also exemplifying these attributes,” she said.
“Mr Dutton’s experience across NSW and the ACT will be incredibly valuable to ACTAS. He is a strong and engaging leader, and I look forward to working closely with him as he takes on this important role.”
Dr Paterson also thanked Patrick Meere for his work as interim chief officer since February.
