Workforce

It is estimated that almost 40% of the nursing and midwifery workforce will reach retirement age in the coming decade. At the same time demands on the Australian health system are increasing rapidly. The ANF supports the Australian government’s commitment so far to tackling workforce and education issues but more needs to be done to meet future challenges. Some of the current government’s initiatives in workforce and nursing education include:

• an extra 1000 undergraduate university nursing places each year from 2009 with 500 extra places created immediately for 2008;
  
• creating 50,000 extra Vocational Education and Training places for health in areas of need including nursing, ambulance officers etc;
  
• an incentive of $6,000 each for up to 7500 nurses who have left nursing to attract them back to the public hospital system and a further $6,000 each for up to 1,000 nurses who return to aged care; and
  
• appointing a chief nursing and midwifery officer at a national level.
  

Take ACTION: Write to Minister Gillard and/or your local federal MP respectfully asking them to address the workforce issues facing health and nursing including the need for:

• a national workforce strategy linking educational places to workforce supply and demand;
  
• an increase in federal funding for clinical placement costs for undergraduate nurses and midwives;
  
• ongoing investment into university education for nurses, both undergraduate and graduate education;
  
• federal funding to ensure paid re entry and refresher education for registered and enrolled nurses; and
  
• a fully funded and structured graduate year for nurses.
  

Write to the ANF and give us your ideas for the future of the health workforce.