This falls short of the Victorian Government's proposed 90 per cent target.
Shadow Assistant Health Minister and State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said the state government’s approach to the issue was flawed.
“Instead of fixing the root causes within our health system, the government’s response has been to punish hospitals already struggling under immense pressure,” Ms Cleeland said.
The data follows a quarter of increased demand for emergency services, with Ambulance Victoria responding to almost 100,000 code one emergencies, an increase of more than 3000 from the previous year.
While 64.9 per cent of code one emergencies state-wide were attended to within 15 minutes, the Strathbogie Shire experienced longer wait times, with a median response time of more than 22 minutes.
Ms Cleeland said wait times in Benalla (average of 12.70 minutes) and throughout the Mitchell Shire (14.72 minutes) fell below the state average.
A government spokesperson said support would continue to be provided to healthcare workers to improve response times.
“Despite significant and sustained demand, our hard-working doctors, nurses and ambos are making sure patients continue to receive world-class healthcare and our new ambulance handover standards will help deliver that care even sooner,” the spokesperson said.
The government has announced plans to implement the Standards for Safe and Timely Ambulance and Emergency Care for Victorians across 17 major metro and regional health services in 2025 to address these concerns.
“The standards are focused on ensuring patients can get world-class care faster and closer to home, through measures including re-direction to alternative care settings, enhanced patient transfer procedures, more timely inpatient admissions and early discharges,” the spokesperson said.
