Revised registration standard and safety and quality guidelines for midwives published today

01 Feb 2016

A revised Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives and the Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives (SQG) have been published today.

The NMBA is also releasing the revised common registration standards for continuing professional development (CPD), recency of practice and professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements to give midwives, employers and the public time to understand the updated requirements set by the NMBA.

What’s changed

Registration standard: Continuing professional development

• Clarity has been provided about the requirement for nurses and midwives who are registered but not working, to complete CPD.
• The requirement for midwives with an endorsement for scheduled medicines to complete an additional 20 hours of CPD has been revised to 10 hours of additional CPD, related to prescribing and ordering of diagnostics.

Registration standard: Recency of practice

• Inclusion of information for nurses and midwives who work in non-clinical practice.
• Clarity has been provided about recency of practice requirements for nurses and midwives with an endorsement.

Registration standard: Professional indemnity insurance arrangements

• Inclusion of automatic reinstatement.
• The definition of ‘run-off cover’ has been amended for clarity.

Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives

• Combines and replaces the two current registration standards - Registration standard for endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives and Eligible midwife registration standard.
• Changes in the use of the term ‘eligible midwife’.
• Transition from the current two-step (notation) process for endorsement for scheduled medicines to a one-step process.

Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives

• Replaces the current Safety and quality framework for privately practising midwives attending homebirths.
• Supports regulatory accountability for safe and professional private midwifery practice for exemption from the PII requirements under the National Law.

Key dates

Effective date for common registration standards – 1 June 2016

Effective date for Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives and Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives – 1 January 2017

Transition period

During the transition period, the current registration standards and guidelines will still apply.

Transition period for common registration standards – 1 February to 31 May 2016

Transition period for Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives and Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives – 1 February to 31 December 2016

Revised registration standard: Continuing professional development

Revised registration standard: Recency of practice

Revised registration standard: Professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements

All midwives will need to meet the obligations of the revised common registration standards by the registration renewal period in May 2017. They do not apply to renewals of registration in 2016.

Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives

Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives

Additional information for endorsed and privately practising midwives

The NMBA is developing transitional arrangements to the one-step process to endorsement for scheduled medicines. The NMBA will work with stakeholders so there are no impacts on midwifery practice, in particular as a result of the change in use of the term ‘eligible midwife’.

For midwives that are endorsed and notated there will be no change, however you will need to ensure you are familiar with and can meet the requirements of the Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives by 1 January 2017.

For midwives who have a notation and are not endorsed, the NMBA will write to you to tell you about what you need to do in relation to your undertaking to complete an approved program within 18 months of becoming notated.

For midwives planning to apply for endorsement, the current two-step (notation) process will be in place until 31 December 2016. If you submit an application by 31December 2016 you will have 18 months from the date of your application to become endorsed.

From 1 January 2017 only applicants that meet the new Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines for midwives will be endorsed.

Additional information for midwives also holding registration as a registered nurse

The NMBA has also published the Registered nurse standards for practice that come into effect on 1 June 2016. More information is available in the news item.