The problem investigated was that the New South Wales Police Service and Ambulance Service of New South Wales maintain rescue units for technical rescue in many areas where the New South Wales Fire Brigade has fire stations that are under-utilized, while all three services are facing various pressures to improve productivity and service outcomes. The purpose of the research was to determine whether an alternative system of allocating technical rescue responsibilities to the fire, police and ambulance services would deliver increased productivity and better outcomes. Action research was the chosen approach to answer the following questions: 1. What is the current breakdown of rescue responsibilities between the New South Wales Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service of New South Wales, and New South Wales Police Service? 2. What pressures are being exerted on each of the services in terms of service delivery? 3.Can technical rescue be considered to be a "core function" of any or all of the three emergency services? 4. Can improved productivity and outcomes be delivered by a re-arrangement of current technical rescue responsibilities? Procedures employed were according to action research methodology and included a comprehensive literature search and feedback instrument. The results of the research identified imperatives for change facing each of the services, and that rescue can be considered to be a core competence of fire services, but not of police or ambulance services. It also identified opportunities for improved service delivery. The major outcome of the research was production of a strategy to improve rescue service provision by transferring rescue responsibilities of the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Ambulance Service to the New South Wales Fire Brigade.The recommendations resulting from the research were (a) that current rescue responsibilities of the New South Wales Police Service and Ambulance Service of New South Wales be transferred to the New South Wales Fire Brigade to achieve cost savings, service efficiencies, and reductions in response times, (b) that the State Rescue Policy be amended to delete the category of Secondary Rescue, (c) that savings realized by the New South Wales Fire Brigade in training and equipment due to the deletion of fire brigade Secondary Rescue Units be applied to defray costs involved in assuming additional Primary Rescue responsibilities from the New South Wales Police Service and the Ambulance Service of New South Wales, (d) that Ambulance Service of New South Wales staff resources assigned to rescue units be re-assigned to front-line pre-hospital care,thus increasing response resources and reducing response times in line with recommendations of the New South Wales Audit Office, (e) that sworn police officers previously assigned to rescue units be re-assigned to front-line policing in line with recommendations of the Wood Royal Commission, (f) that a marketing and consultation plan be developed to assist with implementation of the previous recommendations, and (g) that further research be conducted into the interaction of the three emergency services at rescues and other emergencies to identify opportunities for service improvement, for example fire service involvement in emergency medical response.