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469,986 nurses (including those also registered as midwives)
1.4% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
88.3% female; 11.7% male
441,891 nurses
87.7% female; 12.3% male
All nurses, including those also registered as midwives
1,940 notifications lodged with Ahpra about
1,593 nurses
199 immediate actions taken
451 mandatory notifications received
754 practitioners monitored for health, performance and/or conduct during the year
1,567 cases being monitored at 30 June:
53 criminal offence complaints made
62 closed
60 matters decided by a tribunal
No matters decided by a panel
17 appeals lodged
35,256 midwives (including those also registered as nurses)
1.5% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
98.7% female; 1.3% male
All midwives, including those also registered as nurses
7,161 midwives
99.7% female; 0.3% male
113 notifications lodged with Ahpra about 99 midwives
4 immediate actions taken
17 mandatory notifications received
23 practitioners monitored for health, performance and/or conduct during the year
42 cases being monitored at 30 June:
4 criminal offence complaints made
5 closed
No matters decided by a tribunal
No appeals lodged
Our inspiring nurses and midwives led us through another pandemic-affected year. As frontline responders, nurses and midwives stepped forward and encouraged the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination. We also watched as retired nurses and midwives quickly returned to the workforce through the pandemic sub-registers – more than 1,800 midwives and 15,000 nurses were on the sub-registers during the year. These nurses and midwives were crucial to the nation’s vaccination efforts and supported our hospitals through these challenging times.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and I also wish to recognise the continued strength and resilience shown by our nurses and midwives who are experiencing ongoing personal and professional pressure, not only related to the pandemic response but also due to the challenges caused by recent natural disasters across Australia. In these extreme circumstances, nurses and midwives continue to meet their responsibilities to their work and support their communities in the times when they need it the most. Thank you for all that you do.
The NMBA approved a registration fee freeze for the second year in support of our nurses and midwives. We also acknowledged the significant amount of professional development nurses and midwives have done while navigating COVID-19 in clinical settings, by minimising the need for reporting the continuing professional development (CPD) of nurses and midwives at registration renewal.
We welcomed two new community members, Ms Sonja Ilievska and Mrs Gemma Martin, to the NMBA, both with wide-ranging backgrounds in public health services. Professor Catherine Chamberlain, a midwife, educator and Trawlwoolway woman, also joined the NMBA as our newest practitioner member. With a combination of public and practitioner board members, the NMBA ensures its regulatory priorities remain fit for purpose and community focused.
The NMBA continues to work closely with Nurse & Midwife Support, a 24/7 national support service for nurses and midwives that provides confidential advice and referral. The NMBA made a commitment to a new suite of services to further support nurses and midwives:
The NMBA acknowledges this unprecedented era in healthcare and its effect on nurses and midwives across the country.
With a critical lens on the standard of care across the medical cosmetic industry, the NMBA released a position statement for nurses working or wishing to work in the area of cosmetic medical and surgical procedures. The purpose of this statement is not to impose further regulation but rather to clarify a nurse’s scope of practice in certain medical and surgical procedures.
This position statement includes guidance for:
The NMBA may amend the Position statement: Nurses and cosmetic medical procedures in future based on the recommendations of that review.
The NMBA and health departments are ending the Endorsement for scheduled medicines for registered nurses (rural and isolated practice) (RIP endorsement), allowing rural and isolated practice registered nurses (RNs) to supply and administer certain scheduled medicines under local medicines and poisons legislation, policies and protocols without needing an endorsement.
Most states and territories in Australia already regulate the safe use of medicines by RNs through drugs and poisons legislation, local regulations and health service policies and/or protocols.
The two states that relied on the RIP endorsement within their legislation (Victoria and Queensland) have finalised alternative regulatory mechanisms for RNs to obtain, supply and administer certain scheduled medicines in rural and isolated practice settings. These changes enable RIP-endorsed RNs to continue their medicines practice without requiring an endorsement from the NMBA.
By removing the endorsement, the NMBA aims to minimise any overregulation and streamline the process for rural nurses to administer scheduled medicines.
Health Ministers have agreed to extend the professional indemnity insurance (PII) exemption for privately practising midwives (PPMs) until 31 December 2023. For PPMs to be eligible for the exemption from PII for providing intrapartum care for home births, they must meet the Safety and quality guidelines for privately practising midwives.
These guidelines provide PPMs with clarity and support to practise their role with safety and quality, while facilitating workforce flexibility and access to services. The guidelines also apply to PPMs who provide care in discrete areas such as postnatal care, antenatal care and/or specialist lactation services. The NMBA has started a review of these guidelines and will consult with midwives in the review process.
Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM