Health practitioners

Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program: Fact sheet for public health facilities

Funding is available for eligible public facilities 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 public nursing workforce. The funding available will assist public hospitals with the re-training and re-skilling of nurses and 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 facilities as well as funding up to an additional 1,170 ongoing university nursing places per year.

On 5 December 2008, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP, announced that following feedback from stakeholders, and in response to ongoing shortages in the community nursing sector, the BNBW program would be expanded to include community health settings, community-based aged care and day surgery hospitals.

• Aims and approach
• Eligibility
• How does an eligible public health facility gain a place?
• How does an eligible public health facility employ a registered nurse/midwife or enrolled nurse for a Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce place?
• What is an eligible facility entitled to under this program?
• How will this program work for an eligible facility?
• What must the hospital 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 are to:

• reduce the nursing shortages in the public health system and
• attract 8,750 of the estimated 30,000 qualified nurses who are outside the Australian nursing workforce back into the workforce.

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

Eligibility

A public health facility will be eligible for the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce bonuses if it is an eligible public facility, or community based service funded by a BNBW fundholder.

An agency that employs nurses to provide nursing services to a hospital, community service or aged care facility is not an eligible facility under this program.

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/backtonursing.

How does an eligible public health facility gain a place?

• Each state and territory has a notional allocation of full-time equivalent places.
• The Australian Government has negotiated funding agreements with State and Territory Governments. Eligible public health facilities will need to negotiate the allocation of individual places with their respective State or Territory Government. Top of page

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

• The eligible facility is responsible for determining the recruitment and selection of nursing/midwifery staff for the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program.
• The eligible facility is responsible for gaining information from the registered nurse/midwife or enrolled nurse returning to work to determine if the individual 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 an eligible facility 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 by the relevant State or Territory Department of Health. An eligible facility may give priority to a nurse returning to work in a full-time capacity.

What is an eligible facility entitled to under this program?

• A one-off payment of $1,000* per eligible full-time equivalent nurse/midwife returning to work is to be paid to the employing eligible facility by the relevant state or territory health departments. Top of page

How will this program work for an eligible facility?

• The eligible facility will undertake recruitment and selection processes.
• The eligible facility 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 program; the eligible facility 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 eligible facility will provide the nurse/midwife with a form that will include the relevant Statutory Declaration for signature.
• The eligible facility will promptly provide the state or territory health department with the details of the recruitment of a nurse/midwife to an allocated place, in accordance with the protocols established by the relevant health department.
• This notification will trigger payment by the state or territory health department of funds to be allocated to the eligible facility to assist the facility to support a nurse, back into the eligible facility.
• The facility will not receive a payment for an eligible nurse/midwife who has moved to the facility from another public facility, as this nurse will have received this initial support at the facility for which he or she commenced work. The eligible facility will be required to notify the state or territory health department that this nurse/midwife has transferred entitlements to its facility.
• The eligible facility will provide a report to the state or territory health department 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 eligible facility will provide the state or territory health department with details of hours worked after six months and 18 months continuous employment of the individual nurse who has a place allocated under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program. Top of page

What must the eligible facility provide for the bonus payment?

• The eligible facility 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 funds received by the relevant state or territory health department or Australian Government for these general purposes.

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

• Each eligible nurse/midwife who returns to work in an eligible facility 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.
• The eligible facility should ensure that there are systems in place through regular payroll processes to identify nurses/midwives that are eligible for such payments.
• Both of the bonus payments are considered assessable income for personal taxation purposes under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and should be taxed accordingly.
• The eligible facility 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 web site, www.health.gov.au/backtonursing, or by calling toll free on 1300 733 314.

Public health facilities are encouraged to contact the relevant state or territory health department to discuss their eligibility for nursing places under the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program.

* Prior to 5 December 2008 this payment is pro-rata for part-time and casual staff.