The ANF

Established in 1924, the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) is the national union for nurses, midwives, assistants in nursing and students. The ANF represents the industrial and professional interests of nurses and midwives through the activities of a federal office and branches in each state and territory.

The ANF's over 200,000 members are employed in health care and other settings in urban, rural and remote locations in both in the public and private sectors. ANF members work in hospitals, health and community services, schools, universities, the armed forces, statutory authorities, local government, professional organisations, offshore territories and in industry.

ANF members have the opportunity to contribute to and influence nursing issues by becoming involved in ANF special interest groups, committees and events, and by becoming a job representative in the workplace.

The ANF has a range of national policies, guidelines and position statements.

How does the ANF help nurses?

ANF Branches

Nurses join the ANF branch in the state or territory where they work. ANF branches provide a range of services to members, including:

All ANF branches have a network of job representatives in workplaces where there are members. Job representatives often provide the first point of contact with ANF in the workplace and are the vital link between the ANF and its members.

ANF branches also represent the profession by lobbying state and territory governments on issues affecting nursing and midwifery legislation, regulation, education and employment and the health care generally.

The ANF has run successful campaigns to increase nurses wages and improve their working conditions across Australia. Provisions now enshrined in nursing awards and enterprise bargaining agreements include mandated nurse to patient ratios in Victoria and workload management arrangements in other states, professional development leave, qualifications allowances, revised career structures and paid leave for trade union training.

Branches:  

ANF Federal Office

The ANF Federal Office coordinates the activities of ANF branches in response to national issues of importance to nurses. It lobbies at a national level from offices in Canberra and Melbourne, participating in the development of national policy on nursing and midwifery, regulation, health, community services, veterans' affairs, education and training, occupational health and safety, industrial matters, immigration, social justice issues and law reform.

The ANF Federal Office runs campaigns to raise political awareness, and political action if necessary, among members and the general public in the pursuit of improved public policy on health, social justice and related issues.

The ANF Federal Office also represents Australian nursing internationally through links with other national and international nursing organisations, professional associations and the International Labour Organisations. The ANF is a member of the Commonwealth Nurses Federation and the South Pacific Nurses Forum and is affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), International Centre for Trade Union Rights and Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA (Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad) which is the overseas aid agency of the trade union movement.

More about the ANF

Governance

The main governing and policy-making body of the ANF is the Federal Council. Federal Council meets at least once each year and comprises the Federal President and Vice President, the Federal Secretary and Assistant Federal Secretary, Branch Secretaries and Branch Presidents.

The other governing body is the Federal Executive. The Federal Executive comprises the Federal President and Vice President, the Federal Secretary and Assistant Federal Secretary and the Branch Secretaries. Federal Executive meets at least four times each year.

The Biennial Delegates Conference is the conference for ANF job representatives. This conference sets the priorities for the ANF for the next two years.

The office-bearing positions of Federal Secretary and Assistant Federal Secretary, Federal President and Vice President, Branch Secretaries, Branch Presidents and Vice Presidents are elected by ANF members. ANF job representatives are elected by members at the workplace level to represent members’ interests at state and national levels.

The majority of ANF’s work is funded by its membership and by ANJ subscriptions, with some special projects funded by project grants.

Policy-Making

The ANF has a set of national policies, guidelines and position statements relating to nursing, health and social justice issues, for the guidance of members in their practice and at their workplaces.

National policy-making is done from the Federal Office by consultation with ANF branches and their members via the Federal Council. National sub-committees cover professional issues, industrial issues, occupational health and safety, publishing, aged care, rural and remote nursing and information management.

Day-to-Day Running

The Federal Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day management of the ANF Federal Office and, together with the Assistant Federal Secretary, coordinates the activities of the Federation at a national level. Branch Secretaries manage the day to day activities of ANF state and territory branches.

Other key roles at the Federal Office are:

Professional Officers are responsible for managing the federal professional program. They write ANF’s policies and submissions to federal government inquiries, represent the ANF on national committees, at conferences and in professional fora, and liaise with a wide range of nursing and medical organisations. They also coordinate the Professional Advisory Committee, which is made up of federal and state professional officers.

Industrial Officers are responsible for managing the federal industrial program. They review and make amendments to awards and enterprise bargaining agreements and provide industrial support and advice to ANF branches and the Federal Council and Executive committees. They coordinate the Industrial Advisory Committee, which is made up of federal and state industrial officers. They also prepare the quarterly Nurses Paycheck.

The ANJ Editor and a journalist are responsible for writing and publishing the ANJ each month.

The Education Officer is responsible for running the ANF education and training program.

The Communications Officer is responsible for ANF’s public profile, running campaigns and liaising with the federal government and the media.

Publishing

The ANF Federal Office publishes two journals. The Australian Nursing Journal (ANJ) is published monthly and contains clinical articles and reports the latest national and state news for nurses and midwives. The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing (AJAN) is a peer-reviewed research journal which is published quarterly online.

History

Current Office-Bearers