As nurses around Australia celebrate International Nurses Day, they will need to stay patient beyond this Federal Budget for specific and significant nursing reforms and funding announcements. The theme for International Nurses Day is Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. It must also be the theme of the next round of health reform.…
On International Nurses Day (IND) 2026, the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is calling on all governments to make investment in nursing a priority for a more efficient and effective health system that provides easy and equitable access to quality health services for all Australians. Acting ACN CEO Dr Zachary Byfield said Australia will continue…
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) says the budget funding boost to make Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCC) permanent will only be effective if there are urgent reforms to enable efficient use of all health professionals to their full scope of practice. Three years since the first Medicare UCC opened, ACN is calling on the…
The Australian College of Nursing is calling on the Federal Government to revise guidelines to allow nurse practitioners to lead care independently in Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs), with GP recruitment an ongoing challenge for the program. Nurse practitioners are among the most highly qualified clinicians in our health system, capable of leading UCCs, but…
The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee has recommended the passage of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025, paving the way for designated registered nurses to prescribe medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from July 2026. The Australian College of Nursing welcomes the Committee’s unanimous recommendation to pass the bill, after…
Nurses working in Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are being held back from leading care, even as the clinics struggle to recruit and retain qualified staff, according to an independent evaluation. The second interim evaluation of Urgent Care Clinics, released by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, reveals a stark gap between nursing and medical…