"The computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system is already in place and Technisyst has a contractual responsibility for the message delivery, which in NSW is that 95 percent of messages must be delivered from the gateway to the ambulance in eight seconds and 98 percent in 10 seconds," Delaney said.

"The system logs and records the time between job allocation and when the vehicle arrives at the [destination], because ambulance drivers push a status button when they get out of the vehicle.

"In the past the ambulances were activated from the station, or dispatchers had to try and keep track of ambulances through voice traffic, which can sometimes be garbled; in this case all job details appear in text on the screen inside the ambulance."

NSW Minister for Health, John Hatzistergos said the system will be fully managed by Telstra under a Delivery Traffic Indication Message contract spanning five years. It will help to lead to faster response times in ambulances in regional NSW, he said.

"Another benefit of the use of GPS technology is that ambulance officers will be able to pinpoint exact coordinates to reach rescue helicopters in rural and remote areas during emergency operations," Hatzistergos said.