About the strategy
The National Nursing Workforce Strategy will guide long-term reform for:
- workforce sustainability
- diversity of the profession
- workforce planning
- a pathway from novice to expert
- data sharing.
With a set of actions and a framework for stakeholder collaboration, the strategy will:
- support nurses to work to their full scope of practice
- enable nurses to maintain and deliver quality, evidence-based, person-centred care
- sustain an experienced nursing workforce, including in regional, rural and remote areas
- support the mental health and wellbeing of nurses
- align with state and territory nursing strategies and plans, and other relevant Australian Government plans.
Scope
The strategy will cover:
- registered nurses
- enrolled nurses
- nurse practitioners
- assistants in nursing – however named
- students of nursing.
It will not cover:
- midwives, which is a separate profession
- industrial issues, such as awards and enterprise agreements.
Why it is important
Nurses are a critical part of the health and aged care workforce. They make up more than 40% of the health workforce – the largest health profession in Australia.
Having a national strategic approach to nursing will help us tackle current and future workforce challenges and drive opportunities to meet the health and aged care needs of Australians.
Consultation and research
From September 2023 to February 2024, we consulted with nurses and other stakeholders to identify issues facing the nursing workforce and opportunities for the future. We held:
- face-to-face workshops
- conferences
- online webinars
- yarning circles
- focus groups
- an online survey.
We researched Australian and international literature to understand how we can best support the nursing workforce. In addition, the results of the nursing supply and demand study have been used to inform the strategy by forecasting the supply and demand for nurses in Australia over the next 12 years.
The draft National Nursing Workforce Strategy was released for public consultation from September 2024 to October 2024. This provided nurses and other stakeholders an opportunity to share their views and feedback on the draft strategy prior to its finalisation.
The research along with findings from two rounds of consultation were used to inform drafting of the strategy. The collection of research, reports and consultation findings are available below.
National Nursing Workforce Strategy – building the evidence base
Who we work with
We are partnering with Victoria to develop the first national strategy for the nursing profession.
We also work with:
- nurses
- professional bodies
- health professionals
- the community
- educational and regulatory nursing organisations
- members of parliament
- state and territory governments.
Governance
The development of the strategy is being overseen by 2 committees:
- the Strategy Steering Committee oversees the development of the strategy and reports progress to the Health Workforce Taskforce
- the Strategy Advisory Group provides advice on the development of the strategy.
Next steps
Feedback from public consultation will be used to refine the strategy. Once the strategy is finalised, we will seek approval from all Health Ministers.
An implementation plan and a monitoring and evaluation framework will be developed to support the strategy and facilitate implementation.
Contact
To receive updates on the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, please subscribe to our nursing and midwifery newsletter.
