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STORY Defend your rights at work
Over the past three years the federal government has broadened the range of workplace rights including protections for union delegates, allowing casuals to convert to full-time work if they choose, and the right to disconnect.
12 COVER STORY
New laws give new opportunities to NPs
Career prospects for nurses have been boosted by federal Labor government changes to the role of nurse practitioners.
16
HEALTHSCOPE
Healthscope members escalate campaign
Healthscope’s legal actions have not stopped NSWNMA members campaigning for fair pay and adequate staffing.
18
NSWNMA COUNCIL
Introducing our new councillors
Three long-serving members of NSW Council, Lorna Scott, Richard Noort and Lyn Hopper –after delivering sterling contributions to the governance of our union – have decided to pass the baton to a new generation of leaders. This month in The Lamp we introduce their successors.
20 PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM
Picket line puts focus on nurse exodus
Chanting ‘Pay us fair!’, hundreds of nurses and midwives formed a two-hour picket line outside NSW parliament.
22 PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM
State government MPs divided on nurse pay issue
The union’s pay campaign is winning increasing support from state Labor MPs but some have refused even to meet with nurses.
COVER : Pat Fahy and Anne Allsopp Photographed by Sharon Hickey
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SHAYE
Candish
GENERAL SECRETARY
There are looming threats to your rights and achievements
We are on the cusp of a federal election which will have far reaching consequences for nurses and midwives in aged care and public health – and where our rights in the workplace are at risk.
First, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Many nurses and midwives in NSW are, rightly, very angry with the state Labor government for their intransigence and the lack of respect they have shown us during our PHS pay campaign.
That campaign continues and we will continue to fight for the fair pay outcome that nurses and midwives richly deserve and will continue to hold them publicly accountable for their actions.
But it is important that we recognise the different policies and outcomes that exist at the federal and state levels. For example, the federal government has had some success reducing the gender pay gap nationally while the gap continues to grow in NSW.
Even more importantly we need to consider the very real risks the federal Coalition poses to the professional interests of nurses and midwives and to the workplace rights of Australian workers in general. That includes your family, friends and acquaintances.
HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN AGED CARE
We acknowledge that in aged care the Albanese government has delivered historic outcomes that improve the lives of nurses and carers through significant pay increases and make the sector safer and more sustainable for residents and aged care workers alike (see page 10).
We don’t pretend that all is now rosy and everything we advocated for has been achieved in the sector. But considerable progress has been made, and the sector is going in the right direction after decades of neglect by previous parties of all stripes.
Allocating $11.3 billion in the federal budget for a record 15 per cent pay increase that benefited more than 250,000 aged care workers is unprecedented in Australian history.
On the whole, the federal government has delivered on its promises in aged care made before the last federal election and the platform is there to continue improving the sector.
On top of this the Fair Work Commission awarded Certificate 3 employees further increases in a Work Value Case that brought their total increase to 23 per cent. This was also funded by the federal government to the benefit of a significant number of our aged care members.
More work needs to be done to ensure transparency around the levels of care delivered and employer accountability.
But on the whole, the federal government has delivered on its promises in aged care made before the last federal election and the platform is there to continue improving the sector.
WHO WOULD YOU TRUST WITH MEDICARE?
The Albanese government has promised a serious renewal of Medicare pledging $8.5 billion in incentives to GPs to bulk bill their patients. The goal is to have nine out of 10 GP visits bulk billed by 2030.
The Coalition has promised to match this dollar for dollar. This bi-partisan commitment to Medicare is welcome although we retain some scepticism over the Coalition’s proposal in light of Peter Dutton’s previous record as health minister (see pp 15) when he oversaw a major assault on Medicare. Labor’s promises to expand the Free TAFE program, to give financial support for nursing students during pracs and more nursing scholarships will have direct benefits for nurses and midwives.
WORKPLACE RIGHTS ARE AT RISK
We, like many others in the union movement, are concerned about the impact on the workplace rights of our members covered by federal laws if a Peter Dutton-led Coalition government assumes office after the federal election.
Over the last three years the Albanese government has broadened the range of workplace rights which have benefited many of our members including more protection for union delegates, allowing casuals to convert to full-time work if they choose and the right to disconnect. It has also introduced multi-employer bargaining and closed loopholes around labour hire and casual work.
The Coalition is already on the record promising to abolish these Albanese government measures that have boosted workers’ wages (see p 36).
This election could have serious consequences for your workplace rights and achievements. We would ask you to give serious consideration to how your vote will impact on health, aged care and workplace rights.
These issues are our core business, and we believe the way these issues are handled by the next federal government will have a considerable impact on our members’ professional and personal lives. And the lives of your families.n
Have your Say
Featured Letter
Shine a light on the unseen work of nursing
For many registered nurses and midwives, our contribution to the community doesn’t end when we finish our shift at our place of work. Like many of my nursing colleagues, I often get called on after hours by family, friends, and sometimes friends of friends asking for assistance.
Whether it’s with help navigating the health system, accessing healthcare, assistance understanding symptoms and medications, or certifying documents, nurses are sought-after professionals, 24/7!
I’m not complaining, I’m always happy to help and share my expertise. But I believe this is another way nurses and midwives are taken for granted and undervalued in NSW. Let’s shine a light on this unpaid community volunteering that often goes unseen and unacknowledged. This is an important aspect of being a nurse or midwife in NSW in 2025!
Victoria Norris, Registered Nurse
10% of my wage is going towards parking
Since I was young, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. My grandpa warned me that there was no money in nursing, but my parents taught me that doing what you love means you never work a day in your life— and that still holds true.
On my first day as a new graduate nurse, I was told to sign up for parking because the waitlist was at least three years. Colleagues suggested parking on the street, but spaces were scarce and often required long walks. Excited for a full-time wage, I decided to pay for parking, but soon realized it was unsustainable.
As a first-year nurse, 10 per cent of my net pay went toward parking. I started arriving earlier to find all-day parking, but on some days, I still had to use the paid car park. I even tried car-sharing with my partner, who worked nearby. One day, while walking to his work, I was spat on by a member of the public, who said it was because I was a nurse.
Featured Letter
As we know the financial strain nurses and midwives face, and the lack of support from the NSW Government for those who work tirelessly to care for others is resulting in a mass exodus to neighbouring states. NSW nurses and midwives deserve access to a fair wage without the stress of choosing between paying for essentials or safely getting to and from work.
Ruby Tilley, Registered Nurse
Vale Robyn Knighten
Dear editors of The Lamp, thank you for writing up a beautiful story for my long-time friend Mrs Robyn Knighten. I am not a nurse; however, I have family members and my daughter in the profession. My friend Robyn and I had known each other since we were 15 years old. To see her acknowledged and her work acknowledged was very fitting with her drive, passion and persistence. Thank you.
Kim Wilcox – Community member
Born to be free
This year’s Mardi Gras was as epic as ever. With the ‘Born to be Free’ theme in mind, the NSWNMA decided to honour our midwives with a birth-themed float. The day started with the traditional lunch and a solid workout, practicing and refining our dance moves before we made it onto Oxford Street.
Our LBGTQIA+ members and their allies provided a spectacular 2km dance fest, dressed in purple and adorned with all the usual array of trimmings and glitter. We provided a feast for the eyes, and you might have even spotted two babies running through our float; the crowd couldn’t get enough of us. Our float also went semi-viral, amassing over 6.5 million views on TikTok at last count. Our float was the talk of the parade and provided much debate – it wouldn’t be Mardi Gras without drama.
The overall vibe of the evening was overwhelmingly positive and we thank the public for their continuing support and passion for the celebration of diversity and nurses and midwives. A big thank you to all the wonderful people from the NSWNMA who organised the float, the costumes, and the professional-level choreography, it all drew screams from the crowd as we made our way down Oxford St. Finally, thanks to all those who joined the parade on the day, proof that we are all one big family who just want to celebrate that fact that we are indeed born to be free.
Carole Doyle, Midwife
Defend your rights at work
Over the past three years the federal government has broadened the range of workplace rights including protections for union delegates, allowing casuals to convert to full-time work if they choose, and the right to disconnect.
The union movement has achieved some notable improvements to workplace rights since the last federal election working with the Albanese government and in the face of strong opposition from the Coalition and business interests.
Among the significant achievements are:
IMPROVED RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS FOR UNION DELEGATES
Private and aged care delegates now have a clear right to represent the industrial interests of members (or persons eligible to be members).
“Industrial interests” are what members band together to fight for at work. These include lobbying a government for more funding, signing up members to the union, or organising protected action.
In their role, under the new laws, union delegates are entitled to:
• reasonable communication from their employer
• reasonable access to the workplace and workplace facilities, and
• reasonable access to paid time during normal working hours to attend related training.
Workplace delegates also have important new protections.
An employer of a workplace delegate must not:
• unreasonably fail or refuse to deal with the workplace delegate, or
NSWNMA MEMBERS, ANNE ALLSOPP AND PAT FAHY
• knowingly or recklessly make a false or misleading representation to the workplace delegate, or
• unreasonably hinder, obstruct or prevent the exercise of the rights of the workplace delegate.
MORE RIGHTS FOR CASUALS
The Albanese government’s Closing Loopholes Legislation makes it easier for casuals to convert to fulltime work if they choose. Casuals who work full-time hours are able to access leave entitlements and guaranteed hours if they change their employment status.
THE RIGHT TO DISCONNECT
The Closing Loopholes Act also contains a right to disconnect which prevents employees from being punished for refusing to take reasonable work calls or answer emails in their unpaid personal time. Employees are now able to raise a complaint about these intrusions and if the issue is not resolved at the workplace, employees can apply to the Fair Work Commission for an order on the employer to stop the unreasonable out-of-hours contact. A breach of the order is punishable by a fine of $18,000.
CRIMINALISATION OF WAGE THEFT
The new laws enacted by Labor criminalise wage theft. Employers who intentionally underpay their employees can now face criminal prosecution with penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $1.65 million for an individual or $8.25 million if the offender is a body corporate.
MORE PROTECTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
Employees subjected to family and domestic violence are protected against discrimination under the Closing Loopholes Act.
SUPER ON PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
From 1 July 2025, the Albanese government will pay 12 per cent superannuation on top of Commonwealth paid parental leave. More than 180,000 women receive parental leave payments each year, meaning the unfairness of the loss of super has been nearly entirely on women. n
New laws give more peace of mind
The right to change from casual to permanent employment gave Anne Allsopp, a midwife and member of North Shore Private Hospital branch, more certainty in her life.
“I worked as a casual employee for 20 years as the flexibility suited my family life. But the work became increasingly irregular, and I wasn’t getting the shifts I needed. I applied for conversion to permanent parttime so I could have some certainty about the shifts I would be working. The legislation helped me because I was guaranteed conversion. I didn’t have to apply to be made permanent for the job that I was doing.
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They vote for you is a website where you can discover how your representatives in parliament vote on issues you care about.
Visit: https://theyvoteforyou. org.au/
Now that I am permanent, I don’t need to set aside days for work only to find out I’ve been cancelled the night before. I get holiday pay and sick leave, so I don’t have to worry about factoring that into my budget as it is pre-budgeted for me as an employee.
In my unit, people who need some financial security have opted to go permanent because of the financial unpredictability of casual work.
I am on the bargaining team for the current EBA we are negotiating. We are hopeful of winning the right to be paid if we are called outside of our normal hours.
This payment has been inspired by the right-to-disconnect legislation. The employer has agreed to this, as they are aware that this legislation has come in and that they don’t have an automatic right to contact you outside of hours. Paying to contact you outside of hours will make employers question the need to contact you.”n
The Coalition and business groups want to shred your rights at work
The Coalition has promised to abolish the right to disconnect, multiemployer bargaining, rights for casual workers and higher wages for labour hire employees.
But the threat to our workplace rights could go much deeper. Late last year an industrial relations “blueprint” paper from the HR Nicholls Society – a think tank closely aligned with the Liberal Party – outlined a radical employers’ agenda designed to tear up protections for workers and deliver big business large scale wage cuts.
The paper calls for the scrapping of awards, the abolition of unfair dismissal rights for workers in businesses with up to 50 employees and preventing any worker earning over $125,000 from being covered by a collective agreement.
Prominent business leader Steve Knott, chief executive of the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association, told the HR Nicholls Society that the Howard-era WorkChoices agenda “did not go far enough”. “The awards system must be abolished,” he said.n
Aged care activism starts to pay dividends
Overcoming the many decades of neglect in aged care will take time but it must be acknowledged that significant progress has been made.
0n the eve of the last federal election aged care was in acute crisis. Then decades of strong campaigning by aged care members began to reap rewards.
When introducing aged care as the ALP’s centrepiece policy at the last federal election, the then opposition leader Anthony Albanese described the dire state of the sector:
“We’ve all been chilled by the stories of unforgiveable neglect. Maggots in wounds. People going for days without fresh air, a shower or a change of clothes. Stories of residents lying on the floor, crying out in pain, and nobody there to help them.”
The pillars of Labor’s 2022 federal election policy on aged care were:
• a registered nurse (RN) on-site and on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• a mandated 215 minutes of care per resident per day
• funding real wage increases for aged care workers
• ensuring accountability across the sector
• mandated standards for nutrition in nursing homes.
In an interview with The Lamp leading up to the 2022 election Albanese made it clear that he recognised the key role of aged care workers in delivering the quality of care elderly Australians deserved.
“I have had the opportunity to meet many ANMF/NSWNMA members in the aged care sector. You are hardworking, dedicated and inspirational in your commitment to quality aged care,” he said.
“Labor appreciates you, but we don’t just want to say, ‘thank you’ – we will show our appreciation in a real way.”
A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT IN WAGES
On assuming office, Labor moved quickly to kickstart the reforms recommended by the Royal Commission into Aged Care.
Significantly, it started with wages. It allocated $11.3 billion for a record 15 per cent pay increase that benefited more than 250,000 aged care workers.
The increase went to registered nurses (RNs), enrolled nurses (ENs), assistants in nursing (AiNs), personal care workers (PCWs), head chefs, cooks, recreational activities officers, and home care workers.
There were substantial pay rises for those on the award but also for those on EAs above award rates of pay.
In March 2024 the Fair Work Commission awarded Certificate 3 aged care workers a further 8 per cent wage increase (on top of the previously announced 15 per cent increase) as further recognition that this mostly female workforce has been historically undervalued.
This increase is also funded by the Albanese government.
This support from the federal government to fund these wage increases has resulted in pay rises of between 15 and 23 per cent for our members in aged care.
This unprecedented improvement has directly addressed the historical undervaluing of our work, and has directly reduced the gender pay gap, as women working in feminised industries like ours get these increases.
AGED CARE MEMBERS CELEBRATE THE $11.3 BILLION FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR WAGE INCREASES AFTER YEARS OF STRONG CAMPAIGNING
PUTTING NURSES BACK IN NURSING HOMES
Labor has also implemented other key promises from the last election in aged care:
Federal legislation to make residential aged care facilities roster registered nurses on duty 24/7 came into effect on 1 July 2023.
MANDATING CARE MINUTES AND IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY
Other improvements include the implementation of care minutes which started in October 2023. Additional increases in care minutes occurred in October 2024 from the initial 200 minutes (including 40 RN minutes) to 215 minutes, with an increase of RN minutes to 44 minutes.
There are provisions for ENs to make up to 10 per cent of these RN care minutes, to recognise their contributions and skill mix in aged care.
Significant progress has been made but more needs to be done by the federal government to ensure providers are complying with these mandated care minutes and not shortchanging residents on much needed care.
MANDATING STANDARDS FOR NUTRITION
The federal government, through the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), has mandated specific standards for food and nutrition in residential aged care. Key elements of the standards are nutritional adequacy, providing choices to residents, safe food handling, support for residents for eating and drinking as needed and a system for feedback and complaints.n
Changes have improved aged care
Aged care AiN Linda Hardman says she can see progress in the sector since the introduction of the federal government’s reforms.
“We feel more valued, and the increase in our rate of pay takes a lot of pressure off.” — Linda Hardman
“I gave evidence to the aged care work value case, and it was a really interesting and empowering experience. The outcome means that as AINs we’ve been recognised for our professional skills, our value, and the role we play in the team.
I’m very happy with the increase in pay, which helps with the cost of living.
Albanese did come good with his election promises to improve aged care. We feel more valued, and the increase in our rate of pay takes a lot of pressure off.
We now have RNs 24/7 and knowing that we have an RN 24/7 reassures the residents and their families and also gives the staff reassurance. There is a huge focus on nutrition now and there is more
accountability. We are slowly seeing more transparency with the care minutes, so the providers have to be accountable for the number of staff on the floor, which gives staff reassurance, families reassurance and residents reassurance.
More staff on the floor means you can provide the quality of care you should be able to provide.
I think the Albanese government realises aged care is a work in progress and that they really need to listen to staff that are working on the floor. That is where we come in as union members and activists.
Once you stir up a bunch of aged care nurses, we can get very passionate. We are very passionate about the work that we do because we really care about it - that is why we are there.”n
New laws give new opportunities to NPs
Career prospects for nurses have been boosted by federal Labor government changes to the role of nurse practitioners.
In its first term of office, the Albanese government has:
• • Changed the law to enable nurse practitioners (NPs) to prescribe a broader range of medications under the PBS without the need for ‘collaborative arrangements’ with doctors. More NP-friendly changes to the PBS are due later this year.
• Enabled NPs to participate in allied health multidisciplinary case conferences by giving them access to Medicare Benefits
Scheme case conferencing items. More changes to the MBS, such as two new long consult general attendance items for NPs took effect on 1 March 2025.
• Funded a 30 per cent increase in Medicare rebates for a consultation with a NP.
• Funded 1850 postgraduate scholarships for RNs to become NPs between 2023 and 2025. Labor promises to fund a further 400 scholarships over the next two years.
“Removal of a legislated need for collaborative arrangements is a huge step in the right direction.”
—
Pat Fahy
NSWNMA member Patrick Fahy is one of many nurses now taking advantage of Labor’s reforms.
After eight years as a nurse, Pat is undertaking a master’s degree at the University of Sydney to become a NP.
Before starting his master’s, he was employed as a clinical nurse specialist in the paediatric Emergency Department of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
He’s currently working there in a Transitional NP role and will be able to practice independently, with full prescribing rights, once he has finished his master’s degree and undergone endorsement through AHPRA.
“Removal of a legislated need for collaborative arrangements is a huge step in the right direction,” Pat says.
“Allowing NPs to access a broader scope of practice will improve access to health care for people across the state, especially in rural and remote areas which find it hard to attract GPs.”
A BIG STEP FORWARD FOR NPs
He says making it easier for NPs to bulk bill is a big step forward. This is possible thanks to Labor’s abolition of the law requiring “collaborative arrangements” between NPs and doctors in November 2024.
Without such arrangements, patients were denied Medicare rebates on the cost of NP services and PBS subsidies on prescriptions written by NPs.
“There are a high number of disadvantaged people living in rural and remote areas,” he says.
“If they can see a GP who is able to bulk bill, why would they see a NP who cannot?
“One benefit of NPs is that they tend to stay in the community and build important long-term therapeutic relationships with their patients.”
Pat is studying under a Commonwealth scholarship designed to encourage nurses to become NPs.
Thanks to the scholarship, his degree will cost well under half the usual $30,000.
“A full-priced degree would be a massive prohibitive factor for many nurses, “ he says.
“My lecturers at Sydney Uni say the NP student cohort has increased substantially in recent years, possibly as a result of the scholarships, as well as now having the prospect of being able to work in more areas across NSW.
“I love working in ED but it can be stressful. The fact that NPs can now move into the primary healthcare setting will give nurses other longterm career and living options with less burnout.
“In the past, NPs had a narrower scope of practice which often meant their employment options were tied to working almost exclusively in public hospitals.” n
Labor to expand bulk billing
Expansion of Medicare bulk billing and opening more urgent care clinics are the main features of Labor’s health pitch to voters.
This builds on steps already taken by the Labor government to encourage GPs to bulk bill patients.
First, Labor tripled the bulk billing incentive paid to practitioners for pensioners, concession cardholders, and children under 16.
In February 2025, Labor promised to spend an additional $8.5 billion to expand that incentive to all patients from 1 November 2025.
The extra money will also create an additional new incentive payment for practices that bulk bill every patient.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) welcomed the government’s pledge.
The Coalition said it would match Labor’s Medicare investment dollar-for-dollar.
URGENT CARE CLINICS
• Meanwhile, Labor has promised to open more urgent care clinics in the suburbs and regions as alternatives to hospitals.
• The government has opened 87 urgent care clinics during its first term in office.
• In February it promised to open an extra 50 clinics by the end of June 2026 at a cost of $644 million.
FREE TAFE
• The Albanese government has promised to expand its Free TAFE program which includes nursing diplomas.
• There have been almost 600,000 enrolments since Labor started the Free TAFE scheme in January 2023.
• More than 6 in 10 free places have been taken up by women and one in three in regional and remote Australia.
• The current program, which cost $1.5 billion, was due to expire at the end of 2026.
• In February, Labor said it would provide ongoing funding for at least 100,000 fee-free course places a year from 2027.
COMMONWEALTH PRAC PAYMENT
• In 2024, the Labor government agreed to financially support nursing, midwifery and other tertiary students during mandatory workplace placements.
• After meeting a NSWNMA delegation including student nurses, Education Minister Jason Clare announced the government would establish a Commonwealth Prac Payment for Australians studying to be a nurse, midwife, teacher or social worker.
• The new means-tested payment of $319.50 per week during clinical and professional placement periods will be paid from 1 July 2025 in addition to any income support a student may also receive.n
Where each party stands on key issues
Labor
y Labor points to its record of advocating for and funding wage rises for historically underpaid workers such as in aged care and childcare.
y It has legislated to protect the rights of casuals, provide minimum standards for gig workers, and outlawed wage theft.
y Legislation to stop employers using labour hire arrangements to undercut wages came into effect on 1 November.
y Labor has introduced paid family and domestic violence leave and the “right to disconnect” from work.
Labor
y Expansion of bulk billing and more urgent care clinics are central to Labor’s health pitch to voters.
y Labor has already tripled the bulk billing incentive paid for pensioners, concession cardholders, and children under 16.
y Labor promises to spend an additional $8.5 billion to expand that incentive to all patients from 1 November 2025.
y Labor has also promised to open another 50 urgent care clinics in the suburbs and regions by the end of June 2026.
The Coalition
y The Coalition vows to abolish many of the workplace rights and protections introduced by Labor.
y They include the right to disconnect, under which workers can ask their employer not to contact them after hours, rights for casual workers, and equal wages for labour hire employees under the "Same Job, Same Pay" laws.
y Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations, Senator Michaelia Cash, claims the Albanese government’s reforms have been “disastrous” and have given unions “unchecked power in Australian workplaces”.
The Coalition
y When Labor said it would spend an additional $8.5 billion on incentive payments for bulk billing, the Coalition promised to match that figure and raise it by $500 million.
y Regarding the healthcare workforce, the Coalition had said little or nothing about nurses and midwives when this issue of The Lamp went to press.
y The Coalition promised to “grow our GP workforce to address increasing shortages through new incentive payments, entitlements and training support.”
The Greens
y The Greens want more government action to help wages keep up with inflation.
y They say they will work with any future government to raise additional revenue to fund wage increases for “minimum wage workers in feminised care sectors, which have historically been undervalued and under-compensated”.
y They also pledge to support “roster justice” by amending the Fair Work Act to prevent “unpredictable, unfair, and shorthours rostering”.
The Greens
y The Greens want big companies to pay more tax in order to fund expansion of Medicare.
y They say one in three big corporations currently pay no tax.
y The additional tax collected would be used in part to expand Medicare to dental care for adults.
y When they held the balance of power in parliament in 2010, the Greens negotiated limited Medicare coverage of dental care for children.
Labor
y At the heart of Labor’s aged care policy has been a commitment to improve wages in the sector. The federal government allocated $11.3 billion to fund pay increases over 4 years.
y Overall, our aged care members received pay rises of between 15 and 23 per cent.
y The federal government also legislated to make registered aged care facilities roster registered nurses 24/7.
y The federal government has also mandated care minutes and standards for nutrition.
y The Labor government is also pushing ahead with the design of a national registration scheme to support personal care workers, including new training and mandatory minimum qualifications.
The Coalition
y Coalition policy is light on specifics but promises to fund “a sustainable aged care system that is flexible to individual circumstances and provides as much choice as possible.”
y It says it will “address” the growing waiting list for home care, particularly in regional communities, and help old people wanting to access home care packages to stay in their homes for longer.
The Greens
y The Greens say they will continue to push for a phasing out of for-profit providers and for “an aged care system that puts the rights of older people first”.
y They advocate “low-cost and accessible pathways to qualifications for aged care workers”.
y They will push for greater “accountability and transparency” by strengthening governance requirements and enforcing stronger whistleblower protections to protect residents and workers.
Peter Dutton: “Out of his depth” as health minister
Peter Dutton’s grim tenure as health minister saw plans to slash health funding by $50 billion over 10 years, to introduce co-payments for GP consultations and pathology and to axe preventative health measures.
Peter Dutton became health minister after the Coalition won the 2013 federal election but was pushed out of the post in a ministerial reshuffle in December 2014. At the end of 2014, the online health journal Croakey asked various health leaders to summarise how Peter Dutton’s time as health minister would be remembered. “Chaotic and humiliating. Completely out of his depth,” was the scathing assessment of Stephen Leeder, at that time the Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Sydney.
“He squandered his time in opposition and so in government came unprepared to his portfolio where he ignored expert advice, evidence and public opinion to place ideology over good policy.” said Lesley Russell, an adjunct associate professor at the University of Sydney. In a poll by the Australian Doctor magazine – with a readership of more than 20,000 GPs and specialists - Dutton was voted the worst health minister in the previous 35 years.
WHAT HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH
The Coalition’s first budget after the 2013 election, and Dutton’s first as health minister, was a full-blooded assault on Medicare:
• Federal health funding to the states was drastically reduced
• The government abolished Health Workforce Australia which was responsible for ensuring the health workforce had appropriate skills and training
• The National Preventative Health Authority was abolished.
These measures, along with co-payments for GP consultations and PBS prescriptions, were deeply unpopular, were panned by health experts and some were eventually reversed under community pressure. During his time as health minister Dutton had planned to cut hospital funding by $50 billion over the following decade.n
Healthscope members escalate campaign
Healthscope’s legal actions have not stopped NSWNMA members campaigning for fair pay and adequate staffing.
NSWNMA members at Healthscope hospitals have taken further strike action in support of their claim for a new enterprise agreement.
Members at Newcastle Private Hospital were the first to walk out with a 26-hour strike that started on 20 March.
A rally by about 50 members outside the hospital drew enthusiastic support from passing motorists and was favourably covered by the local NBN TV News.
Other Healthscope hospitals were preparing to strike when this edition of The Lamp went to press.
Healthscope threatened to go to the Fair Work Commission to prevent the strike at Newcastle Private, as it did with earlier strike action planned in February.
The company later agreed not to go to the Commission after it reached an understanding with the NSWNMA over the staffing and operation of the birthing suite.
NSWNMA members voted by a 95 per cent majority to begin a campaign of protected action at Healthscope last year.
UNPRECEDENTED LEGAL ACTION
In March, the NSWNMA Healthscope campaign planning team agreed to continue legally protected industrial action after hospital reps canvassed the views of members at seven Healthscope hospitals.
They are Campbelltown Private, Lady Davidson Private, Nepean Private, Newcastle Private, Northern Beaches, Norwest Private and Sydney Southwest Private.
The campaign planning team comprises 10 hospital-based nurse and midwife representatives plus NSWNMA staff.
They have been trying to negotiate a new enterprise agreement with Healthscope since May 2024.
NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said members want Healthscope, Australia’s second largest private hospital operator, to appropriately value and recognise the essential work done by nurses and midwives and address unsafe working conditions they face every day.
“Instead of negotiating in good faith, Healthscope is throwing money at lawyers to find ways to stop our members from exercising their right to take industrial action,” Shaye said. “Healthscope legal action against our members is unprecedented in the nursing and midwifery sector.”
“Instead of negotiating in good faith, Healthscope is throwing money at lawyers to find ways to stop our members from exercising their right to take industrial action.”
— NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish
MEMBERS AT NORTHERN BEACHES HOSPITAL RALLY DURING THEIR STRIKE OF 24 MARCH.
“ We had a great turnout for the strike and rally and we got a really positive reception from the community”
— Cath Du Plessis, NSWNMA member at Newcastle Private Hospital.
NSWNMA FIGHTS PAY CUTS IN FWC
Healthscope members have held work stoppages of two and three hours followed by bans on some nonclinical tasks such as cleaning and data entry.
The company responded to the bans by imposing pay cuts of up to 30 per cent for affected shifts.
The NSWNMA was fighting the pay cuts in the Fair Work Commission when The Lamp went to press.
Shaye said the cuts were completely arbitrary and illogical.
“Some people not participating in bans had their pay cut. Some who engaged in partial bans were docked the same amount as others who fully implemented the bans,” she said.
“Healthscope also docked pay for imaginary ‘bans’ on tasks we never banned, such as stocktaking.
Petition to reclaim Northern Beaches Hospital
The MP for the federal seat of Mackellar, Dr Sophie Scamps, has started a petition to get Healthscope’s Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) taken back into public ownership.
Healthscope is contracted to run Northern Beaches Hospital until 2038 under a public-private partnership deal with the NSW government.
The government awarded a contract to Healthscope to build, finance, operate and maintain NBH in 2014.
When NBH opened in 2018 it replaced two public hospitals - Manly and Mona Vale.
Dr Scamps, a former GP in the northern beaches area and emergency doctor, said nurses, doctors and allied health professionals had been “raising the alarm” for years about Healthscope’s management of the hospital under the public-private partnership.
She said, “ongoing and pervasive cuts to staffing numbers” had “compromised patient care”.
“Northern Beaches Hospital is a failed experiment and must be returned to public control,” she said.
“Public health and private profit-making are fundamentally incompatible. The people of the Northern Beaches deserve more than second-rate, cut-price care.
“NBH is the only remaining public-private health partnership in NSW.
“A 2020 NSW state parliamentary inquiry into the hospital recommended an end to future public-private hospital partnerships – acknowledging they do not work for patients or staff.
“In any case, the enterprise agreement says nurses and midwives should not be doing non-clinical duties on a regular basis.
“A pay cut of 30 per cent suggests that rather than doing occasional cleaning, our members are being required to do lots of cleaning on every shift.”
Shaye also pointed to Healthscope’s legal action – unprecedented in the health sector – that stopped members from taking protected industrial action in the form of a 26-hour strike in February.
“Healthscope is deeply in debt,” Shaye said. “It is battling with its staff, its landlords and private health insurers”.n
“Public health and private profitmaking are fundamentally incompatible.”
— Dr Sophie Scamps
“A simple example is the hospital’s refusal to implement safe minimum nurse to patient ratios that are mandatory at all other public hospitals across the state.”
The petition can be found at https://www.sophiescamps. com.au/time_to_take_our_hospital_back n
Bid to ban health privatisations
The NSW Labor government introduced legislation to parliament in late March to prevent any future government from entering into a Northern Beaches Hospital-style “public-private partnership”. The legislation would outlaw privatisation of public hospital emergency, surgical and inpatient services. The ban is not retrospective, meaning Healthscope could continue to operate Northern Beaches Hospital until its contract expires in 2038.
STOP PRESS
Introducing our new councillors
Three long-serving members of NSWNMA Council, Lorna Scott, Richard Noort and Lyn Hopper – after delivering sterling contributions to the governance of our union – have decided to pass the baton to a new generation of leaders. This month in The Lamp we introduce their successors.
“As a councillor, I am most excited about learning what is going on across the sectors because we are all interlinked.”
Lannelle Bailey, AIN, Mercy Place Albury
Lannelle Bailey’s introduction to AIN work was a dramatic one when she began work at the beginning of COVID at Mercy Place Albury, a 116-bed aged care facility.
The newly elected NSWNMA Councillor joined the union towards the end of 2020, but three years ago, the branch president and branch secretary left the workplace.
Lannelle, then an assistant branch secretary, explains that members held an emergency meeting and worked with their NSWNMA organiser to save the branch from closing.
“I stepped up into the secretary role and another member stepped into the president role.”
Since that time, Lannelle has attended a number of training programs in Sydney.
“I had a ball every time, and became connected with so many people,” says Lanelle, who has been hard at work preparing to negotiate a new EA since the current one expired at the end of June 2022.
She’s also been involved in a Fair Work case over unpaid allowances. “So far, we’ve recouped $40,000 in unpaid meal allowances for 18 members across three sites.”
On the ground, she enjoys working with organisers and industrial officers to help branch
members. “Sometimes it is just a case of helping them word an email and advising them who to approach to get some resolution to their issues.”
“As a councillor, I am most excited about learning what is going on across the sectors because we are all interlinked: You use the health system when your babies are born, when your kids have accidents; then there are health conditions that start to show up in midlife; and then you go into aged care.
“We cover the whole lifespan, and it is going to be good to look at the health system holistically to see where the gaps are. That is how we're taught to look at patients. And when you are working with a group of people with different perspectives and viewpoints, it just helps pinpoint the way to move forward.”
Lanelle has a strong understanding of governance as an active member of her community; she is the President of the Lions Club, represents her community on local Council committees and is responsible for the running of local community groups, which she has founded. Lanelle brings an interesting perspective to Council as she works as an aged care AIN in NSW and in Victoria.”n
As The Lamp goes to print elections were taking place for 2 new positions on council to be filled by members from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ Circle. In the next edition of The Lamp, we will introduce these new councillors.
Colette Duff, RN, Sutherland Hospital
Colette Duff, an RN at Sutherland Hospital emergency department, has worked at North Shore, Westmead, Ryde and Liverpool Hospitals during her three-decade career.
She has worked for the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) providing clinical leadership in quality and safety. Colette has also worked as an CNE and NUM.
She says she saw how critical care was busier after returning to clinical practice in 2017.
“I saw how critical care was busier. There was more work to do, people were unhappy with rostering and the conditions,” says Colette, who holds a Masters in critical care nursing.
“Morale was worse than I’d seen, but it is much worse now. After making it through a really big pandemic, we have more responsibilities, more problems with retention and recruitment, and we’ve had a really prolonged fight for ratios.”
“Working for years under a Liberal government that refused to listen to the people who know their work best really frustrated me, and that’s probably why I became more politically active and became more involved in the union.”
Colette is really encouraged to see the growth in union activity at Sutherland in recent years.
“My first rally that I did was thirty people and now we can get two buses to a strike. It has been great that different clinical areas can now talk to each other. I think during COVID we became quite siloed.”
Colette is looking forward to becoming even more active as a new NSWNMA Councillor.
“I’ve had to call for support throughout my career and the Association and the staff were there for me. Now I want to give back. I want our union to grow and become ever more strong and more respected.”n
Sheridan Brady, RN, Northern Beaches Hospital
New NSWNMA Councillor Sheridan Brady will bring her experience working in the Northern Beaches Hospital, the only hospital in the state that operates in a public-private partnership.
Sheridan, an RN in an ICU, was involved in the campaign to upgrade and save the old Manly Hospital. While unsuccessful, a parliamentary inquiry subsequently saw plans to extend the controversial public-private model to five regional hospitals cancelled.
“Licences can be issued to private hospitals by NSW Health without any mandates around safe staffing,” Sheridan says.
“When Northern Beaches opened there were significant problems with staffing and stock. Before it opened, some people didn’t even have job offers.”
The enterprise agreement with the operator Healthscope means staff are “paid below the public nurses and our conditions are significantly less than in the public sector.”
Sheridan has been a union member throughout her 30-year career working across mental health and ICU wards.
“The day I registered, I was at university picking up my bits and pieces and there was a person who came and spoke to us about what the union is all about and so I joined.”
In 1998, Sheridan received union support when she was involved in a critical incident and had to attend the Coroners Court.
Sheridan’s priorities as a new councillor are fair pay and safe staffing. “You can’t have one without the other. To have safe staffing, you need to be able to attract, recruit and retain nurses and midwives.”
“Being in a private-public hospital has opened my eyes to how important it is to be bonded as nurses and midwives together, whether we are public, private or aged care.”n
“I’ve had to call for support throughout my career and the Association and the staff were there for me. Now I want to give back.”
“Being in a private-public hospital has opened my eyes to how important it is to be bonded as nurses and midwives together, whether we are public, private or aged care.”
Our deepest appreciation to our retiring councillors; Lorna Scott, Lyn Hopper and Richard Noort.
Picket line puts focus on nurse exodus
Chanting ‘Pay us fair!’, hundreds of nurses and midwives formed a twohour picket line outside NSW parliament.
While nurses rallied outside parliament on 26 February, Premier Chris Minns was appearing before a parliamentary Budget hearing.
As Channel 10 News put it, “The premier was pushed on why police are the nation’s best paid but nurses are left to do dirty deeds dirt cheap.”
“Where is your big bold offer for nurses and midwives?” Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn asked Minns during the hearing.
Media coverage of the picket highlighted the growing exodus of underpaid NSW nurses and midwives to other states.
‘The longer this process takes the more nurses and midwives we will lose to other states who value them with competitive wages.’
— NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish
The Minns government has offered nurses and midwives an increase of just nine per cent over three years, which would put wages further behind the rising cost of living.
The government has sent the case to the Industrial Relations Commission, which means strike action would now be in breach of a commission order – hence the own-time picket.
Nurses on the picket line demanded the state government direct new money into health to ensure nurses and midwives get fair and equal pay with other states.
NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said the federal government had just put an extra $400 million into the NSW health budget.
“We need that money to be invested in you,” she told members on the picket line.
“Nurses and midwives should not have to wait until late 2025 for a decision on our 2024 pay and conditions claim in the Industrial Relations Commission.
“The longer this process takes the more nurses and midwives we will lose to other states who value them with competitive wages.
“The state government hasn't moved from its original application and continues to think that 3 per cent per year is enough to fix the gender pay gap and the staffing crisis in New South Wales.
“The state government could put an end to this dispute right now by sitting down and negotiating a fair outcome with us.”
NURSES AND MIDWIVES RALLY OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT.
‘I know the community supports us – I want people in the government to support us as well.’
— Kimberley Balmforth
The state government should listen to us
Third-year nurse Kimberley Balmforth said she never imagined she’d be outside parliament house protesting against a Labor premier.
“I thought Labor was on our side,” she said.
“It’s really disappointing that they're not coming to the table and they’re not open to negotiations.
“I just want them to listen to us.
“I know the community supports us – I want people in the government to support us as well.
“It doesn't feel like they are and it's just incredibly frustrating.”
Kimberley said she was “seriously considering” moving interstate for better pay and better conditions.
“I’m still early on in my career and I love my job – I'm so passionate about nursing and caring for other people.
“I really don't want to (‘move) because I've lived in NSW my whole life and I love it here – all my family and friends are here.
“But I'm seriously considering better options if the current situation does not improve.”
She said a 15 per cent pay rise would “definitely” prevent her from moving to Queensland, Victoria or other states.
She said she expected conditions to have improved after two years of a Labor government, but “it's definitely gotten worse”.
A fair pay rise “would take so much pressure off us, with the cost of living going up and up – it would make such a difference to everyone.”n
State government MPs divided on nurse pay issue
The union’s pay campaign is winning increasing support from state Labor MPs but some have refused even to meet with nurses.
In a social media broadcast to members from the parliament house picket line, NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said, “We’ve been talking with MPs all over the state. Momentum is on our side. We have lots of support from inside the Labor caucus and we need you to keep that pressure on.”
“We know that this government does not want to sit down and negotiate pay with us and we must change their mind on that.
“You having those conversations with your MPs and telling them that they must support a 15 per cent pay increase is critical to that.”
Speaking to nurses and others at the parliament house demonstration, Shaye urged female MPs to support the biggest female workforce in NSW in its campaign for pay equity.
“We have MPs refusing to meet with nurses and midwives in their own communities where nurses are going to talk about severe understaffing, closures of mental health services and of maternity services,” she said.
‘We urge the female MPs in parliament to stand up and fight for our gender and fight for pay equity’ —Shaye Candish, NSWNMA General Secretary
NSWNMA GENERAL SECRETARY SHAYE CANDISH AND PRESIDENT O’BRAY SMITH
“We urge the female MPs in parliament to stand up and fight for our gender and fight for pay equity like they were elected to do.”
In the same broadcast to members, NSWNMA President O’Bray Smith said union representatives got “the cold shoulder” when they went to parliament house to lobby MPs in December.
Now, MPs are “coming up to us and saying, ‘We’ve got to look after the nurses and midwives, we’ve got to
look after the health system. That's our core business, that's what we should be doing as Labor’”.
She thanked members for their hard work in lobbying MPs, adding, “It is starting to shift and we couldn't have done it without you.”
O’Bray said however that some state MPs “are just not jumping onboard” the pay and staffing campaign.
THEY ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOB
She told the rally that some state MPs in the Maitland area had said they did not support a 15 per cent pay rise for nurses and midwives.
‘They’re letting the health system remain in crisis and go downhill quick.’ — O’Bray Smith NSWNMA President
“Can you believe that the same nurses and midwives that were turning out at their election to help them hand out, had to stand in the office and hear, ‘You don't deserve your pay rise.’
“These are the people that are representing us, these are the people that are supposed to be making decisions about what's best for the community, and yet they're letting the health system remain in crisis and go downhill quick.
“They are not doing their job.”
O’Bray said Planning Minister Paul Scully, the member for Wollongong, had told the NSWNMA he did not believe the pay campaign was a gender issue – despite a widening gender pay gap in NSW.
“I think you can say that when you're a man in parliament, can't you?”
O’Bray said.
“What did Paul Scully say next? ‘You don't deserve a pay rise because I haven't had a pay rise.’
“Poor Paul Scully on over $330,000 a year doesn't have a pay rise so the nurses and midwives on $72,000 a year have to continue to suffer.
“How disconnected is this government? How lacking in insight into the struggles the nurses and midwives that keep this community going have to pay their bills.”
O’Bray urged members to visit their MPs and “put them on the spot”.
“Ask them, ‘Are you supporting a 15 per cent pay rise? Are you supporting pay equity with the other states?’” n
40,000 community members call for PHS pay rise
Petition to parliament in support of our Public Health System pay claim breaks record.
An electronic petition signed by almost 40,000 people calling on the state government to deliver a fair pay rise for public sector nurses and midwives was debated in the NSW Parliament in March.
The e-petition, created by NSWNMA member Dustin Levick, gained more than 20,000 signatures in four days and broke the record for the fastest-growing Legislative Assembly petition.
A member of the NSWNMA Air Ambulance branch, Dustin said achieving interstate pay parity was essential for attracting and retaining nurses and midwives in NSW to ensure safe, quality patient care.
“I cannot sit by and watch the quality of care continue to deteriorate, and it has deteriorated significantly, because we cannot attract nurses and midwives to NSW. At the end of the day the public pays the price of the government’s inaction in the form of deteriorating care in our public hospitals,” he said.
“I started the petition so the government can hear from their community. The community clearly wants the government to invest in their health system, and that means investing in their nurses and midwives.
“We will not stop fighting this fight until the government listens. Nurses know what patients need and we cannot give it to them in this failing system.”
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, applauded Dustin for garnering community support and highlighting the plight of nurses and midwives.
“We’re seeing increasing strain and stress on our hospitals. The latest Bureau of Health Information quarterly report, shows there were more than 15,000 additional ED attendances between October and December last year, compared to the previous quarter. Triage category 2 and 3 presentations both increased across the state, and there was a 6 per cent rise in the number of patients who left an ED before completing treatment.
“It’s clear our hospitals are operating in overdrive, and nurses and midwives are at the forefront of this, trying to treat patients in a timely manner while constantly understaffed and under-resourced. This government must fix this urgently – the patients of NSW deserve nothing less.”n
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CCRN Sue Smith on how nurses are helping young people reduce alcohol and risk-related trauma
Bluey creator Joe Brumm on making big messages small
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM on disability advocacy and being a voice for
Branch Beat
Branch Beat with NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary Michael Whaites
Stay safe on social media
Members have the right to talk about industrial and political matters on social media. But we recommend you do so responsibly – for your own safety.
Want to organise a community rally, celebrate a workplace win, drum up public support for a petition, lobby a politician?
Chances are you’ll turn to Facebook, WhatsApp or other social media or messenger platforms to make things happen and get your message across.
Our members use social media creatively and with good effect every day.
Because social media is such a powerful campaigning tool, employers and government bureaucrats will inevitably try to control what people say on it.
NSW Health, for instance, has announced “a campaign on appropriate use of social media”. It is writing a new social media policy for employees and has invited the NSWNMA to comment.
Depending on how the updated policy is worded, we are concerned it may encourage some managers to try to clamp down on fair comment relating to union activity or political issues.
We will always strongly support your right to engage in industrial and political discussions on social media. We also want you to do it safely.
The NSWNMA is developing advice on how to use social media in keeping with our professional obligations, as well as your obligations as an employee.
The following tips will help you use your voice effectively – and stay safe while doing so:
• Understand, and do not breach professional codes such as the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia code of conduct and your employer’s code of conduct.
• Be aware that employers can discipline employees over social media use – even when it’s used outside of working hours or on a personal page or platform. Become familiar with your employer’s specific policies and codes of conduct.
As a general rule, you should not engage in social media activity which:
• brings your employer into disrepute
• brings your profession into disrepute
• divulges confidential information, especially if it identifies patients (don’t ever identify patients – no matter who you’re talking to and how secure you think your privacy settings are)
• implies you are communicating on behalf of your employer.
TREAT PEOPLE HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED
When making political or industrial comments, make sure statements are clearly identified as your own and that you are not representing your employer.
Try to engage in online interactions thoughtfully and respectfully. Be polite and treat people how you would like to be treated.
Pause before responding to online comments or discussions and don’t let strong emotion get the better of you.
Take a moment to reflect on whether you would feel comfortable expressing the same thoughts in person.
If not, consider adjusting your approach to ensure your message aligns with your values and professional obligations.
Focus on sharing information, rather than aggressive or inflammatory language.
Acknowledge the views of others and respond in a way that promotes understanding rather than division.
Be careful of defamatory language or posts. Defamation is a communication (in person, on social media, over email or in print) from one person to at least one other that harms the reputation of an identifiable third person.
Engage in solution-focused communication. Instead of focusing on grievances or attacks, direct the conversation towards solutions.
These hints will help you guide online interactions toward more respectful conversations, prevent escalation and protect your professional reputation.n
‘We want to protect our members while giving them a space where they can share information and opinions.’
Social media has become indispensable to the operation of a modern union branch and the NSWNMA branch at Nepean Hospital is no exception.
Nepean branch secretary and delegate Alicia Rodgers says the branch’s Facebook page, WhatsApp groups and videoconferencing via Zoom are great tools for organising and communicating with members.
“Everyone has always got their phone handy, so social media is a quick and easy way to get in contact with people and share information,” she says.
“We have moved away from traditional contact methods such as phone calls and emails.
“Social media is a really good resource for our members when they’re taking strike action – members are quite engaged on social media during those times.”
Alicia says branch officials who administer the Facebook page are mindful of the need to ensure that posts are respectful towards others and don’t breach the NSW Health code of conduct.
“We want to protect our members while giving them a space where they can share information and opinions.
“There is a capacity for people to share and ask questions anonymously if they want to.
“Our members take quite a professional approach to the page –we have never had to advise anyone to tone down comments.”
Alicia says she is not aware of any attempt by management to censor or discipline Nepean members for their social media use.
“We have had generic NSW Health messages about being mindful of our social media responsibilities.
“When I’m advocating a position in a public online forum, I'm very careful about the language I use, and I don’t identify my employer.”
— Nepean branch secretary Alicia Rodgers
“Some of these messages might be related to NSWNMA campaign activity and the fact that our members increasingly advocate for issues online. “We are certainly gaining more traction in terms of community engagement and awareness about issues and putting more pressure on politicians via social media.”
Alicia says it’s important that branch members who engage with community social media via their own social media accounts make sure they don’t leave themselves open to disciplinary action from their employer.
“When I’m advocating a position in a public online forum, I'm very careful about the language I use and I include no information on my Facebook page that identifies my employer or directly identifies my profession.
“My personal Facebook page carries a line advising that these are my own personal views.”n
Ask Shaye
Expectation to undertake domestic work
I am a Registered Nurse working in the public health system and I am being asked to do domestic work such as cleaning every week. Can I be required to do this?
No. Clause 44 of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award makes it clear that nurses cannot be required, as a matter of routine, to undertake domestic work such as cleaning, or any other duties which are generally performed by other classifications. It should be noted, however, that exceptions may apply to nurses in an isolation block or where the performance of such duties involves disinfection. Direct your manager to this clause in the award and contact NSWNMA for further assistance if required.
Relationships relevant to family and domestic violence leave
What type of relationships are covered in relation to accessing paid family and domestic violence leave?
To access paid family and domestic violence leave, the relationship to the employee could be:
• a close relative
• a member of the household, or
• a current or former intimate partner of an employee. A close relative of an employee is:
• a spouse or former spouse, de facto partner or former de facto partner, child,
• parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling
When it comes to your rights and entitlements at work, NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish has the answers.
• a current or former spouse or de facto partner's child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling
• a person related according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
Leave available to undergo fertility treatment
What is special fertility treatment leave?
Fertility treatment leave is a NSW public health system entitlement which commenced on 1 October 2022 and provides up to five days paid special fertility leave per calendar year.
Fertility treatment means the following assisted reproductive treatments: intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
This is available to an employee who is absent from work to undergo fertility treatment. The leave is non-cumulative and can be taken in part-days, single days or consecutive days. Paid special fertility treatment leave must not be taken concurrently with any other form of leave. Paid special fertility leave is not available to a partner of a person undergoing fertility treatment.
This type of leave is relatively new and is not published in the current version of the Public Health System Nurses & Midwives’ (State) Award 2023. It is however referenced in the current Leave Matters Policy Directive PD2023_045.
When you can access paid sick leave
I have just started employment as a New Graduate registered nurse in the public health system. As I have no prior public service, when can I access paid sick leave?
In short, not immediately. Under clause 37(i) of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2015, an employee is not entitled to paid sick leave until after three months continuous service.
The relevant Ministry of Health policy directive (PD2024_046 Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service) also states that “After the first three months of service Employees become eligible for a full year’s entitlement of paid sick leave on the first day of the fourth month of employment.”
Therefore, paid sick leave becomes initially available after the completion of the first three months of service and subsequently then on your anniversary day.
Involvement of employer in workers compensation process
I am currently injured following a workplace incident and have lodged a workers compensation claim. My employer has asked to attend my next appointment with my doctor. I’m not comfortable with them attending, but they are insisting, and I am not sure if I can refuse or not. When you have a workplace injury, it is part of the process that your employer will need to be involved in some discussions regarding your injury and your progression to recovery. These may be called ’case conferences’.
However, you still retain a right to have a private appointment with your doctor BEFORE your employer enters the discussion. Speak with your doctor to make them aware of your preferences, and request a longer consultation period so you can have a separate private appointment with them before the employer or other third parties attend to discuss your return-to-work plan.
Workers compensation versus work related injury
I am a full time RN and have been on workers compensation for 4 months doing suitable duties 2 days per week. The insurer recently denied liability and I am challenging this through my solicitor. My manager has told me they will now be treating my injury as non-work related. What does this mean, and can they do this?
When an employer indicates that they intend to treat your injury as non-work related, it usually means they will begin following different internal policies and processes. This can lead to problems and cause your employer to breach workers compensation legislation, usually with regard to the provision of suitable work. In your circumstances, the fact you are challenging the insurer’s decision to deny liability means that your employer must continue to treat your injury as if it is work related and continue to provide you with suitable duties. Contact the Association immediately if your employer attempts to take you off suitable duties.
Notice of termination
My contract of employment says I will get 4 weeks’ notice of termination, but my award says I only get two weeks. Which one applies?
You are entitled to 4 weeks’ notice of termination. Awards provide for minimum terms and conditions of employment. Employers and employees are free to enter into contracts of employment which provide more beneficial terms or conditions. In your circumstances the extra notice provided by your contract is more beneficial to you and therefore applies.
Recovery of overpayments –Public Health System
I work in a public hospital and have just received a letter from HealthShare informing me that I have been overpaid and that I owe them money, which they will take from my next pay. Is this allowed?
Yes. Clause 27(v) of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2023 provides that overpayments will be recovered in the next normal pay, except where the employee can demonstrate undue hardship, in which case the recovery rate will be at 10 per cent of an employee’s gross fortnightly base pay. This recovery rate can also be reduced in circumstances of financial hardship by mutual agreement. You must be provided with information about the circumstances of the overpayment, the amount involved and when recovery will commence before any amounts can be deducted from your pay. If you are not provided with this information or do not agree with the information that has been provided to you, then please contact the Association for assistance.
Recovery of overpayments –Private Practice
I work for a small medical centre and my employer has just told that I have been overpaid since I started. They want me to pay back a large sum of money. Can they do this?
These situations can be difficult. Generally, if an employee is overpaid for instance by accident, the monies must be repaid. However, there are exceptions to this rule which depend upon a range of factors including the terms of your contract, whether you have relied upon the extra payments and whether your employer indicated that you were entitled to them. You should contact the Association immediately and provide copies of your contract as well any correspondence regarding the alleged overpayment.
Superannuation guarantee –employer obligations
Will employers soon be required to pay employees’ superannuation guarantee (SG) at the same time as their salary and wages?
This measure is not yet law. However, the Australian Government has announced that from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees’ super guarantee (SG) at the same time as their salary and wages. They will be liable for the super guarantee charge (SGC) unless contributions are received by their employees’ superannuation fund within 7 days of payday. Further information can be found at the Australian Tax Office website www.ato.gov.au
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION CALENDAR
2025
Go online to register for these education sessions and our free range of live webinars. Use the dropdown search fields to search by topic (Professional Courses, WHS Courses and Webinars), suburb or month.
Waterloo
The Deteriorating Patient
Tue 15 April, 9am-4pm, 6 CPD Hours
Cost: members $95 / non-members $190
Midwifery Seminar
Fri 9 May, 9am-4pm, 6 CPD Hours
Cost: members $75 / non-members $150
Understanding Your Annual CPD Obligations
Fri 16 May, 9am-1pm, 3.5 CPD Hours
Cost: members $50 / non-members $100
Law, Ethics and Professional Standards in Nursing and Midwifery
Rural Regional and Remote Professional Development Conference
Partnership between NSWNMA and CSU
Thu 8 May, 9am-5pm, 7 CPD Hours
Cost: members $50 / non-members $100 / nursing and midwifery undergrad students $25
Penrith
Aged Care Seminar
Fri 26 September, 9am-4pm 6 CPD Hours
Cost: members $75 / non-members $150
Shellharbour
Clinical Communication and Documentation
Thu 5 June, 9am-4pm 6 CPD Hours
Cost: members $95 / non-members $190
Annual midwifery seminar
CELEBRATING CORE MIDWIFERY
FRIDAY 9 MAY 2025, 9am – 4pm
Where: NSWNMA, 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017
Cost: members $75 / non-members $150
Includes lunch and refreshments. A CPD Certificate will be provided at the end.
This year, the NSWNMA’s seminar will focus on core midwifery with an engaging program, including birth photography tips, legal advice for midwives, and a panel on caring for those outside established guidelines. Oceane Campbell, author of Labour of Love, will also have a stall to introduce her book.
WHAT TO EXPECT
y Hear from experienced midwives sharing practical advice and career insights.
y Learn about diverse opportunities and how to shape your midwifery career.
y Connect with peers, junior midwives, and industry leaders.
y Engage with experts and get your questions answered.
SPEAKERS
• Leona McGrath – proud Woopaburra and Kuku Yalanji Woman, midwife and artist dedicated to supporting the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nursing and midwifery professionals.
• Kate Kennedy – award winning birth photographer based in Newcastle.
• Benish Hader – NSWNMA Legal Officer, Professional Services.
• Alexandra Emerton – CMC, Naamuru Parent and Baby unit, RPA.
• FARE – not-for-profit organisation focused to create an Australia free from alcohol harm, promote healthy communities, equitable laws, policies, and programs.
• Justine Parsons – CNC, NICU, John Hunter Children’s Hospital.
• Oceane Campbell – midwife and author, ‘Labour of Love’.
Environmental Health and Sustainability Seminar
FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2025, 9am – 4pm
Where: NSWNMA, 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017
Cost: members $75 / non-members $150
Includes lunch and refreshments. A CPD Certificate will be provided at the end.
Hear from a range of speakers about workplace sustainability, network with like-minded colleagues, from residential, community and hospital settings, across private and public sectors.
Professional Perspectives
Maintaining recency of practice
I am taking a career break, what do I need to do to ensure I maintain my registration?
Nurses and midwives are required to maintain recency of practice by ensuring they have completed a minimum of 450 hours of practice within the last five years for each registration they hold. These hours of practice do not need to be continuous, as long as the hours are accumulated over the previous five-year period.
As per the NMBA’s definition of practice, this applies to both clinical and non-clinical practice roles for nurses and midwives: “Practice means any role, whether remunerated or not, in which the individual uses their skills and knowledge as a health practitioner in their profession. Practice in this context is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care. It also includes using professional knowledge (working) in a direct non-clinical relationship with clients, working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory or policy development roles, and any other roles that impact on the safe, effective delivery of services in the profession”.
You are also required to maintain a minimum of 20 hours of CPD for each current registration you hold, annually, for the registration period of 1 June to 31 May.
For more information visit: https://www. nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/ codes-guidelines-statements/ faq/recency-of-practice.aspx
When you don’t reach recency of practice
I have not practiced a total of 450 hours in the last five years, do I still meet recency of practice? What happens next?
If you have not practiced for a total of 450 hours in the last five years you may not meet recency. Practice hours count if you use your skills and knowledge as a health practitioner in your profession, these can be remunerated or not. If you are unsure, please contact the Association for individual advice. If you do not meet recency, you may be asked to complete supervised practice or a re-entry to practice program. CPD requirements for midwives
I am a midwife, how many CPD hours do I require to keep my registration?
Midwives must complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) per year, relevant to their context of practice. The 20 hours of CPD must be completed every year from 1 June to 31 May, for the practitioner to meet mandatory registration requirements. This requirement is in addition to CPD hours required as a registered nurse if you hold dual registration.
ENs and S8 medications
I am an Enrolled Nurse (EN) and feel at times I am pressured to administer S8 medications at my facility, am I allowed to do this?
The situation regarding ENs and the administration of Schedule 8 (S8) medications is quite complex. While it is not explicitly stated that ENs are prohibited from administering S8 medications, their qualifications lack the necessary endorsement under the National Law to do so. In essence, Registered Nurses (RNs) are authorised to administer S8 medications, whereas ENs are restricted to administering medications other than those classified as S8 drugs of addiction, as their training does not encompass the educational requirements for this endorsement.
It is crucial for ENs to be aware of and adhere to their local policies and procedures concerning S8 medication administration. These policies can vary between workplaces and may provide specific guidelines on what ENs are permitted to do regarding medication management. By checking these protocols, ENs can ensure compliance with their workplace processes and maintain the safety and wellbeing of their patients. Additionally, understanding these regulations helps ENs clarify their scope of practice, which is vital for their professional development and accountability in the healthcare setting.
Verifying a death
I work in Aged Care and I have been told that as a Registered Nurse I can verify deaths when residents pass away. Is this true?
When it comes to verifying a death, it is crucial that you consult the local policy of your facility. Each facility may have specific protocols in place regarding death verification and adhering to these guidelines is essential for ensuring compliance and maintaining patient safety.
We encourage you to familiarise yourself with local guidelines to ensure that you are fully informed about your responsibilities in this regard. There may be specific steps to complete as part of a verification of death assessment. There would also be specific documentation to complete. You want to ensure that you are working within your scope of practice and in accordance with policies particularly if it is possible that a death may need to be reported to the coroner.
If your facility does not have a specific policy or guideline addressing death verification, we recommend that you contact a medical officer, general practitioner, or paramedic to perform the verification. If this is not possible the body can be transported to an NSW Health facility for a verification of death assessment.
It is important to ensure that the process is conducted in accordance with legal and professional standards. If you are uncertain of you rights and responsibilities start by asking a manager or educator. If you are still uncertain, please contact the NSWNMA at your earliest convenience for advice and support.
The Association’s professional team answers your questions about professional issues, your rights and responsibilities.
What is a direct care activity
I’m an AIN in a nursing home and I’m being asked to help in the laundry on night duty. I have heard this isn’t allowed as I’m classed as a direct care worker.
The funding arrangements for aged care workers provides specific money for workers to provide direct care to residents through direct care minutes. If you are paid using direct care minute funding then you should only be asked to provide direct care to residents, not laundry or housekeeping.
There’s a list provided by the Australian Government which tells you what a direct care activity is and what’s not: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/ default/files/2024-10/careminutes-and-24-7-registerednurse-responsibility-guide.pdf
Relevant activities for CPD hours
Can I count routine yearly education such as basic life support towards my CPD hours?
Activities can only be counted if they are relevant to your context of practice and where you have engaged in new learning. Routine yearly education cannot be counted unless there is something new that you have learnt.
AUSTRALIA
Federal Labor outperforms Coalition on wages
Real wages in Australia have grown more in the last twelve months than under the entire nine years of the previous Coalition government.
Wage Price Index figures reveal that wages grew at an annual rate of 3.2 per cent in the year to December 2024.
The Wage Price Index data shows that real wages have grown by 0.8 per cent in the last year, more than the entire real wages growth under nine years of Coalition governments.
The ACTU says wage growth has been driven by boosts in minimum and award wages, the care economy and workers exercising their new collective bargaining rights to negotiate higher wages.
Annual wage growth now sits at 3.2 per cent, compared to average annual wage growth of 2.2 per cent under Coalition governments from 2013 to 2022.
The Coalition has committed to abolishing Same Job Same Pay rights, better collective bargaining rights, and the Right to Disconnect – all of which are delivering significant pay rises for workers.
ACTU President Michele O’Neil says the Coalition has refused to rule out penalty rate cuts if it wins government.
“Now that people have more work rights and wages are moving, Peter Dutton and his big business mates like Gina Rinehart want to undo that progress,” she said.
“Peter Dutton has voted eight times in Parliament to slash Australians’ penalty rates.”
UNITED STATES
Trump flags US withdrawal from WHO
In one of his first official acts as president of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The withdrawal will take effect in 12 months, once the United Nations (UN) has been formally notified, reported SBS.
The US is the global health agency's biggest donor and contributes about 18 per cent of funding.
Trump has said the WHO mishandled the COVID19 pandemic and other international health crises and failed to act independently from the political influence of member states.
He said the WHO has required payments from the US disproportionate to the sums provided by other large countries, such as China, and said the US was being "ripped off".
This is the second time Trump has sought to withdraw from the WHO after accusing the organisation of helping China "mislead the world" about the origins of COVID-19.
Experts have warned the withdrawal will have significant impacts on global health.
Terry Slevin, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, described Trump's order as "disappointing, but not surprising".
He said it would impact the WHO's capacity to deal with health emergencies, health threats, and disease outbreaks – and poor countries would be most affected.
He said it would also impact the WHO's ability to respond to outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and issue public health advice.
(Trump’s
‘Peter Dutton has voted eight times in Parliament to slash Australians’ penalty rates.’
— ACTU President Michele O’Neil
decision) would impact the WHO's capacity to deal with health emergencies, health threats, and disease outbreaks – and poor countries would be most affected.
AUSTRALIA
ACTU accuses Gina Rinehart of oligarchstyle influence over the Coalition
The ACTU argues Australia’s richest woman wields massive influence over the Coalition’s industrial relations policy.
Gina Rinehart once argued that “Australian wages were too expensive and too uncompetitive”.
“Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than two dollars a day. Such statistics make me worry for this country’s future,” she told the Sydney Mining Club.
The Australian Electoral Commission has revealed that Gina Rinehart has pumped $500,000 in political donations to the Coalition through her company, Hancock Prospecting.
Rinehart also recently hosted fundraisers for Peter Dutton, charging guests $14,000 a head, and is a major backer of the IPA – the influential Liberal Party-aligned think tank that has called for the abolition of the minimum wage and the dismantling of workplace rights and protections.
Dutton was the guest of honour at Rinehart’s 70th birthday last year. A mural of the celebration, with Rinehart sitting side by side with Dutton, graces the reception of the mogul’s Roy Hill mine.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus says the wages of working-class Australians are on the line this election and voters should be way of Rinehart’s “oligarchic”-like influence over Peter Dutton and the Coalition.
“No billionaire should be able to use their limitless resources to influence politics to scrap workers’ rights.
“Big mining money influence over the Coalition is dangerous. It’s no coincidence that the Coalition has committed to re-opening wage-cutting schemes for big business and has refused to rule out any cuts to penalty rates. Workers can’t afford to lose any rights at work.”
‘No billionaire should be able to use their limitless resources to influence politics to scrap workers’ rights.’
— ACTU Secretary Sally McManus
UNITED STATES
US health cuts threaten biosecurity
The Trump administration has taken actions to dismantle established public health infrastructure as part of its second-term agenda.
The Trump government has not spared health as it wields the axe to US government departments.
The administration began with a widespread purge of the federal public health workforce.
As of February 19, around 5,200 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health had been sacked. The administration has indicated there will be additional firings.
It also removed key CDC websites and databases that are the first stop for health information for health care practitioners, and which are vital to protecting the U.S. from infectious diseases, like avian flu and COVID-19, as well as non-infectious health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Prior to these cuts, the CDC employed over 10,000 full-time staff in roles spanning public health, epidemiology, medicine, communications, engineering and beyond to maintain critical public health infrastructure.
Dr Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, called the cuts at the CDC "indiscriminate, poorly thought-out layoffs" that would be "very destructive to the core infrastructure of public health."
"CDC is the health warning system for the United States," Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and author, told National Public Radio.
"CDC needs change but doing it so drastically and so aggressively with an axe instead of a scalpel is incredibly dangerous to the biosecurity in the United States."
‘CDC needs change but doing it so drastically and so aggressively with an axe instead of a scalpel is incredibly dangerous to the biosecurity in the United States.’
— Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist
AUSTRALIA
Labor promises half a billion dollars for women’s health
The package includes new measures for women in menopause including a boost to support and care provided by GPs.
The Albanese government has announced a $573 million funding promise for women's health, including new spending to encourage long-term contraceptives.
Medicare rebates would be boosted significantly for women taking up long-term contraceptives, in an effort to lift their uptake, the ABC reported.
Use of long-term contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants is relatively low in Australia compared to many similar countries, and the devices can help manage conditions like painful periods and endometriosis.
The current Medicare rebate for the insertion of an IUD is just over $91 but would be lifted to more than $215 under the proposal. The rebate for removing an IUD would go from $61 to $134.
Alongside the new funding for long-term contraceptives, two new oral contraceptive pills are being listed on the PBS.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the government recognised the need for more options in contraception.
"It's about time Australian women had more choice, lower costs and better health care," he said.
The government’s package also includes new measures for women in menopause, including efforts to lift support and care provided by GPs.
A new Medicare rebate would be created for "menopause health assessments", alongside funding provided for new training for health professionals in the area.
‘It's about time Australian women had more choice, lower costs and better health care.’
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler
AUSTRALIA
Liberals seek to ban workers’ voices on super boards
A Liberal-led Senate inquiry into Australia’s retirement system has recommended abolishing worker reps from serving on superannuation boards.
Chaired by Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, the inquiry’s report recommends legislation to abolish the equal representation model, which forms the basis of profit-to-member funds.
These industry funds allow both employer and worker representatives to nominate candidates in equal numbers to serve as trustee board directors.
Profit-to-member funds have outperformed nonrepresentative funds by an average of 1.6 per cent each year over the last 20 years, according to Super Members Council data. For the average Australian, that superior performance puts an extra $190,000 into their retirement savings.
ACTU Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell said banning workers’ voices is a direct threat to the financial security of millions of Australians.
“This is just the latest in Peter Dutton’s destructive record on super. The Coalition froze the legislated increase to the Superannuation Guarantee, voted against making super theft a crime, forced Australians to drain their super to get by during the pandemic, and now they want to force people to drain their super to put a roof over their heads.”
The report contained strong dissentions from Labor and Greens senators.
“The effect of this recommendation would be to limit the representation of workers and union representatives on the boards of superannuation funds and potentially increase representation of representatives from big corporations, for example, the major banks,” Greens Senator Nick McKim said in the dissenting report.
This is just the latest in Peter Dutton’s destructive record on super.
AUSTRALIA
Australia’s child vaccination rates are falling
Australia was once a vaccination success story, but that success is slipping away.
After peaking in 2020 child vaccination in Australia is falling, say researchers from the Grattan Institute.
Child vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions. It accounts for 40 per cent of the global reduction in infant deaths since 1974 and has led to big health gains in Australia over the past two decades.
Ten years after we begun mass vaccination against polio in 1956, it was virtually eliminated. Our child vaccination rates have been among the best in the world.
In 1997, governments introduced the National Immunisation Program to vaccinate children against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, and measles.
What followed was a public health triumph, the Grattan researchers say.
“In 1995, only 52 per cent of one-year-olds were fully immunised. By 2020, Australia had reached 95 per cent coverage for one-year-olds and five-year-olds,” they wrote in The Conversation.
But since 2020 the share of children who are fully vaccinated has fallen every year.
In 2018, there were only 10 communities where more than 10 per cent of one-year-old children were not fully vaccinated. Last year, that number ballooned to 50 communities.
The researchers say the trend to lower vaccinations “shifted, or at least accelerated, during the pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy, fuelled by misinformation about COVID vaccines, is a growing threat”.
Governments, they say, should step up public health campaigns that counter misinformation, boost awareness of immunisation and its benefits, and communicate effectively to low-vaccination groups.
Australia’s assessment and registration of foreign-trained nurses from six “comparable” countries is now simpler, quicker and cheaper as a result of reforms introduced in March 2025.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the removal of “needless red tape” would reduce wait times by up to 12 months for internationally qualified registered nurses from Ireland, Singapore, Spain, the UK, the USA, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario.
The new standards will apply to RNs who have practised for at least 1,800 hours since 2017 in these countries.
“Nurses with relevant qualifications and experience in these comparable countries will no longer need to sit additional examinations or upgrade qualifications in order to gain registration,” Mr Butler said.
He described the reform as a collaborative effort between the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, and federal and state governments to address “unprecedented workforce shortages while maintaining Australia’s rigorous safety and quality standards for healthcare”.
The changes stem from a review of health practitioner regulatory settings by Robyn Kruk, a retired senior public servant, whose findings were made public in December 2023.
A total of 16,622 internationally qualified nurses registered to practise in Australia in the past financial year – three times more than the 5,610 nurses who joined in the final year before COVID (2018/19).
A total of 16,622 internationally qualified nurses registered to practise in Australia in the past financial year
CROSSWORD SOLUTION
Peer-led support and counselling
For nurses, midwives and our students
Safe, confidential, free service
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Robynne, Nurses & Midwives Health and union member
health+wellbeing
Positive self-talk
Reflection helps us to make sense of our experiences and evaluate the care we provide as nurses, midwives and students. When reflection becomes unhealthy selftalk, it may have a negative influence on our behaviour, mental health and outlook and the situations we face daily.
Self-talk – what is it?
Self-talk is the conversations you have with yourself in your head. It can have a powerful influence on your behaviour, your perception of the world and the way you react to everything. The practice of positive self-talk can lead to improved selfesteem, improved management of stress, enhanced wellbeing and may reduce the impact caused by depression, anxiety and personality disorders.
Positive self-talk:
• improves self esteem
• helps manage stress
• enhances overall sense of wellbeing
• can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and personality disorders
• reduces the risk of unhealthy behaviours
• promotes optimism and fosters hope.
Negative self-talk can hold you back and make you miserable. It:
• causes pessimism
• affects your confidence
• diminishes your sense of wellbeing
• can lead us to unhealthy coping mechanisms e.g. substance use, self-harm
• affects the way you deal with challenging situations
• puts strain on your coping mechanisms
• enhances feelings of worthlessness, fear and guilt.
Breaking the cycle of negativity
Experiencing stress, being overworked and illness or injury are just a few factors that can tip people into negativity. It is important to ‘check in’ with the commentary in your head on a regular basis to combat any negative thoughts and conversations, reduce their length and the effects they have on your wellbeing. Often prolonged negative thinking can be a symptom of, or lead us to, depression and/or anxiety, and
can reduce your ability to cope with everyday stressors.
Here are some ideas for you to think about when checking in on the conversations you are having with yourself:
• How often do I say I can’t?
• Are the conversations I’m having with others generally positive?
• How do I look at the glass of life – half full or half empty?
• How much time do I spend feeling sorry for myself?
• When things haven’t gone right what happened?
• Am I surrounding myself with positive people or negative people and what effect do the people around me have on my sense of self?
• Am I having a negative or positive effect on the people around me?
Positive affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that can help motivate the mind in times of uncertainty and doubt. They can inspire and reverse the effects of negative self-talk. Chanting or repeating affirmations regularly during your self-talk can help enhance positive conversation in your mind, boosting your energy and positively impacting your behaviours and actions.
Keep a positive reminder close
Print off a positive affirmation and keep it with your lanyard or clip for your keys or swipe card to refer to if you’re feeling overwhelmed or negative thoughts are fuelling your internal conversations.
The 90/10 rule
The 90/10 rule is a simple principle that can have a great impact on your reactions to situations. It states that in life there are the things you can and the things you cannot control. Ten percent of things that happen to us or around us are out of our control. Your shift being cancelled, a last-minute radiology cancellation for a fasting patient or a prescribing error on a medication chart can be frustrating. The way we react to these frustrations is really what determines the outcome of things that are out of our control. This means that you hold the power to the way you describe your day and the way it ends. Ninety percent of the things that happen to us are a result of the way we react to the uncontrollable 10 percent.
Do you react in a positive way, or do you react in a negative way? Think about how this impacts your day and the way you feel at the end of a shift. Reflect on what each day looks like and try to think of the 90/10 rule next time something happens that you can’t control or change. If you are feeling overwhelmed by negative thoughts and would like to chat to someone you can call Nurse and Midwives Support’s confidential support line 24/7 on 1800 667 877.
NSWNMA support for new grads
A beautiful venue, informative speakers and the chance to connect with peers who are all at the beginning of their nursing and midwifery journey were the highlights of the Association’s first ‘Grads at the Grounds’ day.
What are some strategies to effectively wind down after finishing a demanding shift? How do you manage grief when a patient dies? Who do you turn to when you are going through a hard time at work?
New nursing and midwifery graduates came away feeling more equipped to answer these common workplace questions after attending the NSWNMA’s Grads at the Grounds day in February.
New graduates interviewed at the end of the event said they came away feeling less anxious and much better prepared to start their new graduate roles. “I feel a lot more confident starting my new graduate journey on Monday,” one new grad said. Another said the event had taught her not to second guess herself, but that you can put “trust in your skills and knowledge when you have studied for so long”.
The event was facilitated by NSWNMA President O’Bray Smith, and featured panel discussions and practical advice and tips from experienced nurses and midwives like Ellie Peach, an emergency RN and nursing influencer on Instagram, and radiology RN, Nurse Priya. Nutritionist, TED X speaker and best-selling author Lyndi Cohen gave advice on how to eat well and stay healthy and energised when working as a nurse or midwife.
Event sponsors HESTA, Nurses & Midwives Health, Nurse Midwife Health Program Australia, Health Professionals Bank, and eNurse were on hand to meet with new grads.n
SCHOLARSHIPS
APPLICATIONS CLOSE 5PM ON 31 JULY 2025
nswnma.info/edith-cavell
Applications for the Edith Cavell Trust Scholarships are being accepted from 1 May 2025, closing 31 July 2025, for studies being undertaken in the academic year 2026.
Members or Associate Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association or the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (NSW Branch) are invited to apply.
All grants, awards or loans shall be made to financially assist nurses, midwives, assistants in nursing, assistants in midwifery (including students of those disciplines), and accredited nursing or midwifery organisations, schools and faculties in the furtherance of:
(i) accredited nursing or midwifery studies;
(ii) such academic research programs as are approved by the Trustees in the theory or practice of nursing or midwifery work; or
(iii) clinical nursing education programs at graduate, postgraduate and continuing education professional development level; in accordance with a number of categories.
Full details of the scholarship categories are available from the NSWNMA website. The scholarship application process is now online. Please ensure you have read the Edith Cavell Trust Scholarship Rules and have all your supporting documentation compiled prior to commencing the online application process.
For further information contact: Scholarship Coordinator, The Edith Cavell Trust T 1300 367 962 E edithcavell@nswnma.asn.au
test your Knowledge
ACROSS
1. Surgical technique used in glaucoma treatment (10.7)
10. Familial adenomatous polyposis (1.1.1)
11. Secondary Construction hirer (13)
12. A swelling containing blood (9)
13. Straight muscles, as of the abdomen, eye, neck, and thigh (5)
14. Able to (3)
15. Thoroughly; completely (9)
16. Left occipitotransverse (3)
17. Female gametes (3)
18. Anterior opening to the nasal cavity (5)
19. Baby's mealtime seat (9)
22. Evaluation or assessment (9)
25. Lymphatic system organs (7)
26. Neurocirculatory asthenia (1.1.1)
27. Just so you know (1.1.1)
28. Tiny particle (4)
30. Symbol for bismuth (2)
31. Parasitic infection from undercooked pork (11)
33. Condition causing inflammation in joints (9)
34. Mental health issue impacting emotions (9.8) DOWN
1. Sensory and motor nerve of the face (5.7.5)
2. One skilled in speech reading (9)
3. Team conducting studies or experiments (9.5)
4. Lebanese salad (9)
5. Relating to the study of ear, nose, and throat disorders (17)
6. An operation for cleft palate (7)
7. Central stem in a panicle (9)
8. Instrument for removal in surgery (9)
9. A bacterial species responsible for causing the plague, including bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic forms (8.6)
20. Inflammation of the liver (9)
21. Mental processes that immediately result in movement (9)
23. Dummy pill in medical research (7)
24. Captivated or charmed (7)
28. Ampere-hour (1.1)
29. Activated (2)
30. Indulge excessively (5)
32. Refractory Index (1.1)
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