The Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance paramedic was allegedly stabbed in the neck and face in an unprovoked attack as he waited for a coffee outside a cafe in Reservoir in Melbourne's north on Thursday.
The paramedic, who recently became a father, was taken to hospital with stab wounds to his face and neck in a stable condition after a passerby came to his rescue.
Mohamud Ali, 32, was charged with attempted murder and made no application for bail in a brief hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday morning.
Police allege he got out of a small, red car and stabbed the paramedic in the upper body before fleeing in the vehicle.
The court heard it was Ali's first time in custody and he had no diagnosed medical conditions, although was prescribed diazepam by his general practitioner.
He is slated to return to court on August 7.
There is a minimum jail term of six months for people who injure emergency workers in Victoria, but the law only applies to emergency workers who are "on duty" at the time.
Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said the loophole had been exposed by the incident and another recent case involving a female paramedic who was not treating a patient when she was attacked.
The definition of "on duty" refers to when a paramedic is providing care to a patient, he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan has committed to fixing the laws in response to the incident, and victims and unions raising the "loopholes" issue.
Her government will ask the Victorian Law Reform Commission to review the definition of "on duty".Â
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury called the review "offensive" and accused Ms Allan of "sitting on her hands".
"Our emergency service workers deserve more than another review," he said.
The opposition has vowed to introduce a private members bill in the next parliamentary sitting period to ensure emergency services workers are protected at all times.
Deputy Premier Ben Carroll conceded it was "fair" to point out the failure of the current laws to cover this specific incident.
He said the definition on "on duty" would be clarified as soon as possible to cover emergency workers "walking around in uniform".
"No ifs, no buts," Mr Carroll told reporters on Friday.
The laws were tightened in 2020 after James Haberfield, 22, avoided a prison term despite admitting to attacking a paramedic at a musical festival while on a cocktail of drugs.
Haberfield was ordered to serve an 18-month community corrections order and undergo treatment for schizophrenia, which he suffered at the time of the attack.
The change meant offenders could no longer rely on a "special reasons" clause if their mental state was self-induced by alcohol or drug use.
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