Tuesday September 30 2025 marks a pivotal moment in Australian nursing history. The new registration standard enabling registered nurses (RNs) to prescribe, in partnership with an authorised prescriber, officially takes effect – the biggest advancement for our profession in more than two decades. Are you a registered nurse? Here’s what you need to know: New…
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) says Health Ministers must ensure a new prescribing power for registered nurses is implemented smoothly and consistently across all jurisdictions, with comprehensive support from all parts of the healthcare sector. The regulatory standard that will enable registered nurses to prescribe in partnership with nurse practitioners and medical practitioners takes…
As Australia’s aged care sector undergoes transformative reforms, including the implementation of mandatory 24/7 RN coverage and specified care minutes per resident, this leadership-based program offers timely support for nursing professionals in the aged care sector. The ongoing national reforms place increasing emphasis on workforce development, clinical governance, quality assurance, and a heightened focus on…
Research from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) says boosting funding and capacity for nurse-led immunisation clinics is a key part of the strategy to reverse childhood vaccination rates, which have been declining since 2020. With access to vaccines identified as a key barrier to immunisation, NCIRS recommends that nurse-led clinics inside…
ACN Nursing in the Community Week, 22-28 September 2025 – #nursesarewhereyouneedthem Throughout the Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) Nursing in the Community Week 2025, Australia’s nurses will be sending a clear message that nurses are working and providing high-quality care and advice wherever and whenever you need them, and they should be supported to provide…
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) welcomes the New South Wales and Queensland governments’ introduction of an intranasal influenza vaccine (FluMist) for children aged two to under five years, which will address some but not all of the barriers to childhood immunisation. ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz said subjecting a child to an injection…
As of the most recent figures, there have been 86 cases of invasive meningococcal disease in Australia so far this year, compared with 136 for all of last year, and 143 the year before (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing [DoHDA], 2025c). It is a highly dangerous disease: meningococcal infections were responsible for 249 deaths…
A new app-based tool has been launched to guide aged care providers on their staff education needs, ahead of the introduction of new aged care standards that will require organisations to regularly train staff to deliver quality dementia care. Dementia Australia has developed the new tool, ‘Tell TiNA’, as part of its ‘Ask Annie’ dementia…
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is concerned by the finding in the latest report of the Inspector-General of Aged Care that, despite significant positive reforms to improve care in the aged care system, registered nurses are feeling “exposed” without the support of enrolled nurses in aged care settings. ACN welcomes the Inspector General’s call…
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) says the latest Healthcare Quarterly report from the New South Wales Bureau of Health Information (BHI) again underscores the urgent need for investment in preventive and primary health care to address increasing rates of chronic illness. The BHI’s April-June report shows the highest quarterly admitted patient episodes on record,…