Media release

06 Nov 2013

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia has published new Nurse practitioner standards for practice.

New nurse practitioner standards for practice to come into effect 2014

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (National Board) has published the Nurse practitioner standards for practice - also available under Competency standards on the National Board website - that will take effect on
1 January 2014. These standards will replace the existing National competency standards for the nurse practitioner.

The new standards for practice are the minimum standards that are applicable across diverse practice settings and patient/client populations for both beginning and experienced nurse practitioners.

The new standards will affect various groups, as follows:

• nurse practitioners: need to apply the standards in daily practice from now as a guide on the minimum standards applicable for best practice 
• nurses applying for nurse practitioner endorsement: those applying through non-approved programs of study (Pathway 2) need to familiarise themselves with how the new standards affect them, see additional note (1) 
• education providers: the standards are a guiding tool during development of nurse practitioner programs of study 
• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC): the standards guide the assessment of students in nurse practitioner programs of study that leads to endorsement 
• assessors of a nurse practitioner’s competency: the standards are a benchmark in evaluating:
  • applications for endorsement, and
  • notifications to the National Board about a nurse practitioner.

In publishing the standards that will come into effect in 2014 now, alongside the current competency standards (currently known as the National competency standards for the nurse practitioner), the National Board intends to:

• allow a gradual transition to implementing these standards for practice, and 
• give nurse practitioners, education providers and assessors of standards for nurse practitioners time to become familiar with the new standards across the transition.

The National Board encourages nurse practitioners to use the new standards when reflecting on their practice, to help them determine any continuing professional development (activities) that will help address any self-identified areas of improvement.

Assessing notifications against the new standards

When standards for practice of nurse practitioners are to be assessed, notifications will be assessed against the:

• National competency standards for the nurse practitioner - for notifications received up to and including 31 December 2013, and 
• Nurse practitioner standards for practice - for notifications received from 1 January 2014.

Assessing applications for nurse practitioner endorsement against the new standards

The process for graduates of approved programs of study (Pathway 1) who apply for nurse practitioner endorsement will remain unchanged with the introduction of the new standards.

Graduates of non-approved programs of study (Pathway 2) who submit complete applications will be assessed against the:

• current standards - up to and including 31 December¹, and 
• new standards - from 1 January 2014, unless they are from a ‘teach out’ approved programs of study².

For more information

Please take time to read the standards for practice in conjunction with the following related publications under Codes and guidelines:

• FAQ: Nurse practitioner standards for practice 
• National competency standards for the registered nurse 
• Code of professional conduct for nurses in Australia 
• Code of ethics for nurses in Australia, and 
• A nurse’s guide to professional boundaries. 
• Lodge an online enquiry form 
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 8708 9001 (overseas callers) 
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media release - New nurse practitioner standards for practice to come into effect 2014 - 6 November 2013 (373 KB,PDF)

¹Applicants who have completed a non-approved program of study (Pathway 2) and who choose to apply to the National Board for endorsement as a nurse practitioner under the existing National competency standards for the nurse practitioner must submit a complete application no later than 31 December 2013.

²More information on ‘teach out’ is available in the ANMAC transition and teachout arrangements on expiry of accreditation period policy on the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) website.