Australian Nursing Federation

Australians get a chance to have their say on insecure work

Submissions opened on November 2nd for Australia’s first formal investigation into the rise of insecure work and its effect on families and communities. Workers will have the opportunity to share their stories about the impact of casual, labour hire and contract employment alongside community groups, unions and employers in a new national independent inquiry to investigate the extent of insecure work in Australia. | Read more

Stand up for Super campaign

The average 25-year-old worker could lose $143,000 from their planned retirement savings if Parliament does not support the Labor Government’s plan to increase their Superannuation Guarantee to 12%. | Read more

Statement from the ANF on the Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) offers its condolences to the family and friends of the residents who have tragically died in the Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire. | Read more

NPS launches new online information hub on World Diabetes Day

On World Diabetes Day on November 14, NPS launched an online information hub to help people with type 2 diabetes be medicinewise about their condition. | Read more

Working With Young People To Change Attitudes And Prevent Violence Against Women

Community organisations, not-for-profit organisations and local government bodies are being encouraged to apply for Federal Government funding to deliver education projects to young Australians, aimed at preventing violence against women. | Read more

Job Security for Qantas Workers

Unions welcome the resumption of Qantas flights over the next 24 hours and will now approach negotiations with the airline’s management determined to stand up for job security, and keeping good jobs in Australia. Send an email to Alan Joyce and tell him to return to the negotiating table in a spirit of good faith. | Read more

Awareness for breast cancer raised with pink ribbons

Tanya Plibersek Minister for Human Services and Social Inclusion today joined Cancer Australia’s CEO Dr Helen Zorbas at the 17th Pink Ribbon Breakfast on International Breast Cancer Awareness Day. | Read more

New centre to train more doctors and nurses in Western Sydney

Prime Minister Julia Gillard today officially opened a new training centre in Blacktown that will play a key role in training more doctors and nurses for Western Sydney. | Read more

UN stresses effectiveness of handwashing with soap to prevent diseases

The United Nations today reminded people across the world that simply washing hands with soap and water remains the most cost-effective way to prevent diseases, and urged everyone to motivate others, especially children who are easily infected by disease-carrying germs present in dirty hands, to make it a habit. | Read more

Australia appoints Global Ambassador for Women and Girls

Australia will be at the forefront of global efforts to promote the role of women and girls with the creation of an Ambassador to advocate on their behalf. The Gillard Government today announced career diplomat Penny Williams will be Australia's first Global Ambassador for Women and Girls. | Read more

Launch of the 'Year of the Aboriginal Health Worker'

One of the important contributors to the Aboriginal health workforce in the Northern Territory is being celebrated with the launch in Katherine today of the ‘Year of the Aboriginal Health Worker’. | Read more

Global Midwives Petition

The Midwives Save Lives petition is calling on global leaders to invest more in midwives and health workers with midwifery skills in the right places, at the right time, with the right education, the right support and the right pay. The deadline for petition responses is September 6th. | Read more

International Council of Nurses (ICN) supports Fiji nurses

The ICN has written to Fijian Prime Minister Bainimarama in support of the Fiji Nurses Association (FNA) | Read more

East Africa Appeals

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is requesting donations to assist victims of the famine in the Horn of Africa. Donations will be directed to one of our Solidar alliance partners, the German Workers' Samaritan Federation, which is working in the area to provide relief, food, water and healthcare assistance. | Visit the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA website to donate

Red Cross has launched the East Africa Drought Appeal 2011 to provide drought affected communities in Kenya & Somalia with emergency relief including food, water and health assistance | Visit the Red Cross website to donate

Australia must intervene in new attacks on Fijian workers and union leaders

The ACTU has produced a new climate change information kit to explain the recently-announced package for a price on carbon pollution. To view the information kit and to find out more about the ACTU's Climate Change and Jobs campaign please visit the campaign website.

Climate change information kit

What I Wish I knew about Nursing

Are you a nurse who is struggling with the ever-increasing demands of the job? Do you have a friend or colleague who you can tell is feeling stressed and disheartened because they simply don’t have enough time to provide the level of care they’d like to? Are you worried about how many nurses are leaving our wonderful profession because it’s all too much?

Allie Wilson understands exactly how nurses feel because she is a Registered Nurse who burnt out herself. So to help, she has hijacked her husband’s bestselling What I Wish I Knew series and written a book full of all the advice she wishes she had when she became overwhelmed. | Read more

10 Essential facts about asylum seekers

Over the past 10 years, advances have only been made in improving Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, once a critical mass is achieved of people with adequate command of the facts. | Read more

New superbug detected in Australia

Australia is in the grip of a new superbug that can cause potentially fatal colon infections an editorial in the latest Medical Journal of Australia says. | Read more

"Bringing Health Home for Palestinians" APHEDA Appeal

Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA have launched an appeal to purchase a replacement mobile medical clinic for APHEDA's partner Patient's Friends Society (PFS) in Jenin, West Bank. The current vehicle was significantly damaged by the Israeli army in 2007 and is on its last legs. | Read more

Peak community body supports calls for overhaul of NT intervention

The Australian Council of Social Service has offered its full support for the call by the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the Northern Territory for an immediate overhaul of the Commonwealth Government's intervention in Indigenous communities. | Read more

Unions welcome release of Aung San Suu Kyi but call for action on labour and human rights in Burma

There must be real action to improve workers’ rights in Burma following the release from house detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Australian Council of Trade Unions welcomes the release of Ms Suu Kyi from house arrest after seven years, but is deeply concerned that forced labour and repression of basic human rights continue under the military regime in Burma. | Read more

Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution

The Gillard Government have announced the first step towards recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. The Australian Constitution is the foundation document of our system of government, but it fails to recognise the special place of our first Australians. Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is an important step towards building a nation based on strong relationships and mutual respect. | Read more

Information to assist mature-age workers avoid age discrimination

The Fair Work Ombudsman has produced new educative material aimed at helping mature-age workers avoid age discrimination at work. | Read more

She's the super nurse who saves millions

Meet the super nurse who saves the NSW Department of Health $1.5million a year by helping to keep our elderly out of hospital. Debbie Deasey is a nurse practitioner specialising in aged care and treating chronic illnesses who visits patients at their homes. | Read more

ANF responds on Indigenous health

The Council of Australian Governments has acknowledged that the gap in health and life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains unacceptable and that little progress has been made since 2001.

While investing in improved data collection may be necessary, it's vital that urgent action is taken to put services on the ground to improve Indigenous health outcomes. The commitment to closing the gap in Indigenous health has to move from rhetoric to action. A good first step would be a full audit of Indigenous health programs and a national roll-out of the most successful models across the country. This could also be applied to a range of social programs and projects in areas such as housing and employment.

There seems to be a reluctance at all levels of government to participate in a truly national approach to the issues confronting indigenous Australians. Many of the innovative services developed by nurses, midwives, GPs, Aboriginal health workers and allied health professionals are often overlooked. These services are cost-effective and operate on small economies of scale with very positive outcomes. By all means gather more statistics but, in the meantime, increase the availability of health services that have proven successful in Indigenous communities

What's working
Women For Wik have launched What's Working website to counter the unbalanced reporting and better inform people of real progress in areas where local control and involvement makes the difference.

Codes for nursing and midwifery practice

The ANF, Australian Council of Midwives (ACM), the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accrediation Council (ANAMC), and Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) have developed a new set of codes Australian Nursing and Midwifery Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct in consultation with nurses, midwives and health consumers.

The codes will provide a solid regulatory framework for nurses and midwives, guiding their practice to enable them to provide quality care through safe and effective professional work practices.

For further information or to access the codes please visit the ANMC website

Nurses involved in pandemic preparations

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) are taking an active role in contributing to the development of national plans should an influenza pandemic emerge. | More information