Objective
Improved attraction, recruitment and retention of nurses.
Supply and distribution of nurses meet the needs of communities in Australia, including in rural and remote areas.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander working age population parity is achieved within the nursing workforce.
Positive practice environments which foster diversity, cultural safety and wellbeing.
Rationale
A resilient and responsive health and aged care system relies on nurses. Addressing Australia’s nursing workforce shortage and maldistribution challenges is necessary to enable the continued delivery of quality care that meets the diverse health and aged care needs of consumers.
Transition of practice
Reason for action
Successful transition of practice of nurses into professional roles and between contexts of practice is necessary to build confidence and competence for the individual practitioner. This can be enabled by articulated support programs where experienced practitioners provide mentorship and guidance, and assist with system integration.
A nationally consistent transition of practice framework will ensure nurses are supported to move into the workforce and between settings, specialty areas and scopes of practice.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |||
| 4.1 | Develop a nationally consistent framework for transition of practice.
| A national framework is available and embedded to support and enable consistency of transition of practice for all nurses throughout their career journey. | Education providers/registered training organisations Employers Governments Professional and industry bodies Nursing profession/workforce Regulators | ||
Career framework
Reason for action
Australia lacks a nationally consistent nursing career framework with consistent terminology for roles, competencies and pathways.
A national career framework guided by workforce plans that identify the skills, knowledge, experiences and competencies the health care system requires from nurses will provide a structure in which a nurse can progress and develop their career. The career framework will provide opportunity to develop and maximise career opportunities in alignment with the care needs of Australia’s population.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.2 | Develop a national nursing skills and capability framework and matrix.
| A sustainable nursing workforce that attracts and retains diverse and high performing people. Increased visibility and opportunity for career progression. Workforce mobility across Australia is facilitated. | Employers Governments Nursing profession/workforce Professional and industry bodies
|
Lifelong learning
Reason for action
A national professional development framework is a way to support nurses’ development in their role and across the continuum of clinical, research, administration, education and policy environments.
Development of a consistent national professional development framework will ensure key elements that influence a nurse’s decision to remain in the profession are accessible to all nurses, at every stage of their development. Expanding and building on existing programs will create a more supportive, engaging, and rewarding work environment for nurses.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.3 | Develop a national professional development framework.
| A framework which supports nurses across the career continuum. Nurses can develop to their individual goals and requirements. | Education providers/registered training organisations Employers Governments Nursing profession/workforce Professional and industry bodies Regulators |
Workplace environment
Reason for action
Workplace environments which adhere to positive practice standards ensure the health, safety and personal wellbeing of all practitioners and support a nurse’s ability to deliver safe, high quality, person-centred care. The benefits of positive practice environments to nurses and consumer care outcomes are well documented.67, 68, 69 Occupational violence against nurses is widespread and is unacceptable. Consumers and families are frequently perpetrators of occupational violence.70 However, occupational violence also includes horizontal violence, bullying and psychologically unsafe working environments. All employers are legally required to provide a safe working environment. Employers should also adopt human resource practices that support and encourage a nurse’s willingness to stay in their role and profession.
Adopting positive practice standards in alignment with Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: Healthcare and Social Assistance Industry will give nurses the support and confidence to deliver the standard of care they are trained to provide and will increase retention.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.4 | Adopt positive practice environment standards in all settings.
| Education settings and workplaces are safe places for nurses and demonstrate commitment to student and worker wellbeing.
| Education providers/registered training organisations Employers Nursing profession/workforce Professional and industry bodies Regulators |
Research
Reason for action
Nurse-led research leads to improved workforce, consumer, population and health system outcomes and costs. Nurses who undertake clinical, academic and/or research career pathways are essential to the professional progression of nursing both through research and education. Nurses must have greater opportunities to pursue nurse-led research. Like other healthcare professions, there needs to be stronger links between the health and aged care system and the university sector.
Increasing nursing clinical academic research pathways therefore benefits all components of the sector.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.5 | Build and grow nurse clinical-academic/research career pathways.
| Clinical, academic and research pathways are visible, integrated, sustainable and accessible. | Education providers/registered training organisations Employers Governments |
Rural and remote workforce
While the nursing profession is the most distributed health workforce in comparison to other health professions, more nurses are needed in rural and remote areas.71
The following actions, along with developing strategies and programs such as the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023-202772 will help overcome the challenges of attracting and retaining nurses in rural and remote communities. They will contribute to a more attractive career package offering for the current and future nursing workforce.
Actions, strategies and programs should be considered in conjunction with broader government initiatives that attract health care workers to rural and remote areas which focus on core essentials such as availability of housing and childcare, and provision of technologies which support nurses to work to their optimum scope of practice.
Reason for action
Rural and remote nursing provides a unique range of opportunities, including exposure to a diverse range of clinical and leadership experiences, greater autonomy and the opportunity to build strong relationships with the community. It also requires care to be delivered to populations that have significantly higher burden of disease, lower life expectancies, and barriers to health service access not experienced in urban areas.
Developing a rural and remote career pathway with transition of practice support will ensure nurses working in rural and remote areas are well-prepared, supported and empowered to practice in this unique context.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.6 | Develop a rural and remote career pathway inclusive of transition of practice support.
| Increase in the size and distribution of the rural and remote nursing workforce commensurate with population need. Increased recruitment and retention of nurses in rural and remote communities.
| Education providers/registered training organisations Employers Governments Professional and industry bodies |
Reason for action
There is linkage between positive exposure to rural and remote clinical training with the intent to practice in these areas.73 Quality learning opportunities in rural and remote communities support the development of confidence and skills to work in these areas and foster strong local connections.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.7 | Develop models of education to allow students to study closer to home including strengthening rural nursing clinical schools and professional experience placements. | Increased attraction of nurses into rural and remote nursing. | Education providers/registered training organisations Governments |
Reason for action
In remote and very remote communities, nurses are often the only place-based practitioner, supported by virtual or fly-in/ fly-out or drive-in/drive out multidisciplinary health professionals. Consequently, remote area nurses are responsible for providing continuous, coordinated and comprehensive primary health care to meet the diverse needs of their entire community, including after-hours emergency care. Where nurses in rural and remote areas can work to their optimum scope of practice, increased job satisfaction can lead to improved retention and communities can benefit from improved access to care.
| Action | Intended outcomes | Responsibility | |
| 4.8 | Remove barriers to nurses working to their optimum scope of practice within multidisciplinary models of care in rural and remote locations. | Increased retention of nurses in rural and remote communities. Improved access to care for people living in rural and remote locations. | Employers Governments |