Adjunct Professor (Practice) Alison McMillan PSM was appointed as the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer in November 2019.
Alison has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years. She has a Critical Care Nursing Certificate, a Bachelor’s degree in education and a Master of Business Administration. Alison has held senior executive roles in government and health services in Victoria including:
- the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer
- Director of Quality, Safety and Patient Experience
- Director of Health Emergency Management.
Alison provides strategic policy advice to the Health and Aged Care Portfolio’s Ministers. and the executive and staff in our department. She provides support on nursing, midwifery, health system reform, health workforce, regulation and education.
Alison is a member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee along with several other committees with her role in advising the Australian Government to realise the value of the nursing and midwifery professions in achieving evidence-based, safe, high-quality and compassionate health and aged care outcomes for the Australian community.
Alison is leading a range of strategic projects including:
- the National Nursing Workforce Strategy
- the Review of Collaborative Arrangements for Nurse Practitioners and Eligible Midwives.
- The Nurse Practitioner Workforce Plan
- Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Reference Group
- National Nursing and Midwifery Education Advisory Network
- finding a sustainable solution to the exemption in the National Health Practitioner Regulation Act for Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practising Midwives.
- a supply and demand study of the nursing workforce quantifying the nursing workforce in Australia and forecasting workforce requirements at the national and state and territory levels
- chairing the Woman-Centred Care Strategy – Monitoring and Evaluation Senior Officials Group and National Stillbirth Implementation Oversight Group.
She has received several awards including:
- Public Service Medal, June 2021 – for outstanding public service to driving the Government's national health response priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly to infection prevention measures
- a National Emergency Medal, 2009 – in recognition of service following the 2009 Victorian Bushfires
- Humanitarian Overseas Medal, 2021.
Alison strongly supports enabling all nurses and midwives – from early to late career – to work to their full scope of practice. This poses enormous benefits to the delivery of health and aged care systems.
Alison is supported in her work by Frances Rice, Senior Nursing Advisor and Kellie Wilton, Senior Midwifery Advisor.
Read more about the work of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and what we are doing for nurses and midwives.
Find out more about nurses and midwives.