Media Release

8 April 2006

Positive first steps to address the nursing shortage

The Australian Nursing Federation today welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of 1,000 additional nursing university places each year beginning in 2007. These places are additional to other nursing places already allocated, such as the 420 places for mental health nurses announced recently.

‘This is a very positive first step in addressing the nursing shortage’, ANF federal secretary Jill Iliffe said. ‘Nurses comprise 50% of the health workforce. Nearly half the current nursing workforce is over the age of 45 years. With an ageing Australian population requiring more nurses into the future we need to start now to build up the nursing workforce to replace those 100,00 nurses who will be contemplating retirement over the next 15-20 years.’

‘The increase in funding for nurses’ clinical education is also welcome. Nursing is a clinically based discipline and the additional funding means a better clinical education for nurses and supports their transition from the university to the workplace’.

‘It is also pleasing to have the Prime Minister’s reassurance of a commitment to the implementation of the recommendations from the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Health Workforce’, Ms Iliffe said. ‘We’ve had far too many inquiries into nursing over the past five years with very little action resulting. It is good to see some action at last’.

It has been estimated that we need to be graduating around 10,000 nurses a year. Currently we are only graduating around 5,000. The ANF will be lobbying the Federal Government to build on this positive first step in 2008 with the allocation of more places.

The ANF will also be looking to the states and territories to increase their allocation of training places for enrolled nurses.

Media inquiries
Jill Iliffe, Federal Secretary 0419 576 590
Victoria Gilmore, Federal Liaison Officer 0409 221 699