Health practitioners

Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program: Fact sheet for private hospitals

Funding is available for eligible private hospitals to support the employment of registered nurses/midwives (Division 1 in Victoria) and enrolled nurses (Division 2 in Victoria), or a level consistent to these, to return to the private hospital workforce. The funding available will assist private hospitals with the re-training and re-skilling of nurses/midwives who return to work.

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This program was announced on 15 January 2008 by the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP and the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP. The program commits $39.4 million over 5 years to provide places for 7,750 extra nurses and midwives in public and private hospitals and 1,000 nurses in residential aged care homes. This program is part of a larger measure through which the Government will provide $138.9 million over five years across the Health and Ageing and Education portfolios in support of the recruitment and training of up to a total of 8,750 nurses across public and private hospitals and aged care as well as funding up to an additional 1,170 ongoing university nursing places per year.

• Aims and approach
• Eligibility
• How does an eligible private hospital gain a place?
• How does an eligible private hospital employ a registered nurse/midwife or enrolled nurse for a Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce place?
• What is a hospital entitled to under this program?
• How will this program work for a private hospital?
• What does the hospital have to provide for the bonus payment?
• How does a nurse/midwife receive a bonus payment under this program?
• Further information

Aims and approach

The aims of the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program include:

• reducing the nursing shortages in the private hospital system and
• attracting 1,550 of the estimated 30,000 qualified nurses who are outside the Australian nursing workforce back into private hospitals.

The program will provide cash bonuses of up to $6,000 to eligible nurses/midwives who return to work in a private hospital that is participating in the program. The program will also provide cash bonuses of up to $1,000 to participating private hospitals that employ an eligible nurse/midwife. Top of page

Eligibility

A private hospital will be eligible for the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce bonuses if it is a declared private hospital, where it provides hospital treatment that includes part of an overnight stay. 'Declared' means a facility that has been declared a hospital under subsection 121-5 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

A hospital is not an eligible private hospital under this program if it is:

• an agency that employs nurses to provide nursing services to a hospital or aged care facility
• a private hospital which provides only hospital treatment that does not include part of an overnight stay (i.e. day hospital facilities)
• any other organisation that is not a licensed public or private hospital.

Information on nurse/midwife eligibility is contained in Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce, Fact Sheet for Nurses and Midwives, available from www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-nurse-backnurse.

How does an eligible private hospital gain a place?

• The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing has negotiated funding agreements with private hospitals groups and Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) to administer the private hospital component of the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program. Private hospitals seeking to gain a place in the program should contact their hospital group administration or the RCNA to seek further information. Top of page

How does an eligible private hospital employ a registered nurse/midwife or enrolled nurse for a Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce place?

• The hospital is responsible for determining the recruitment and selection of nursing/midwifery staff for the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program.
• The hospital is responsible for gaining information from the registered nurse/midwife or enrolled nurse returning to work to determine if the individual nurse/midwife is eligible to be considered for a place under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program.
• A nurse/midwife must fill in the relevant forms and a statutory declaration for a hospital to register and claim a bonus payment.
• Applications should be based on a nurse/midwife being employed full-time or the pro rata part-time or casual equivalent (subject to employment arrangements in the relevant state or territory). A hospital may give priority to a nurse/midwife returning to work in a full-time capacity.

What is a hospital entitled to under this program?

• A one-off payment of $1,000 per eligible full-time equivalent nurse/midwife returning to work (or pro rata for part-time or casual nurses/midwives) is to be paid to the employing hospital under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program. Top of page

How will this program work for a private hospital?

• The private hospital will undertake recruitment and selection processes.
• The private hospital will inform a nurse/midwife who is eligible under this program if there are places available at the hospital under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce; the hospital should identify its preference for full-time allocation at this time.
• On employment of an eligible nurse/midwife under Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce, the hospital will provide the nurse/midwife with a form and the relevant Statutory Declaration for signature.
• The private hospital will promptly provide the funding body with the details of the recruitment of a nurse/midwife to an allocated place, in accordance with the protocols established by the funding body.
• This notification will trigger payment of funds to be allocated to the hospital to assist the hospital support a full-time equivalent, or pro rata for part-time individuals, back into the hospital.
• The private hospital will not receive a payment for an eligible nurse/midwife who has moved to the hospital from another private hospital, as this nurse/midwife will have received this initial support at the hospital for which he or she commenced work. The private hospital will be required to notify the funding body that this nurse/midwife has transferred entitlements to its hospital.
• The private hospital will provide a report to the funding body with a minimum set of data to monitor the placement of an individual nurse/midwife and the number of full-time equivalent positions that have been employed.
• The private hospital will provide the funding body with details of hours worked after six months and 18 months of continuous employment of the individual nurse/midwife who has a place allocated under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program. Top of page

What does the hospital have to provide for the bonus payment?

• A hospital will provide support through targeted programs for a nurse/midwife returning to the workforce. This is in addition to existing state or territory re-training and re-entry programs required for registration and any other funds allocated in current programs for these purposes.

How does a nurse/midwife receive a bonus payment under this program?

• Each eligible nurse/midwife who returns to work will receive $6,000 (or pro rata equivalent amount) in two instalments; one payment of $3,000 (or pro rata equivalent) after six months continuous employment and another $3,000 (or pro rata equivalent) after 18 months continuous employment.
• A hospital should ensure that there are systems in place through regular payroll processes to identify nurses/midwives that are eligible for such payments.
• A hospital should ensure that there are systems in place to provide to the funding body a minimum data set on a quarterly basis and on payment of bonuses to individual employees.
• The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing will provide this standard information, through the funding body for the hospital to use and this should not be varied. Top of page

Further information

Further information on the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program can be accessed from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing website, www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/work-nurse-backnurse, or by calling toll free on 1300 733 314.

For further information on RCNA administration of private hospitals (Independent and non-affiliated hospitals), please go to the the RCNA website, www.rcna.org.au, or call toll free 1800 553 252.

Page last reviewed: 26 February 2009