Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal (ANMJ)

The average underpayment of direct care workers, including personal care workers, enrolled nurses, registered nurses and assistants in nursing, was $1,478. Of the 22 aged care businesses providing residential and home care services investigated by the FWO, 13 were found to have breached workplace laws in one or more areas. All 13 employers had underpaid staff.

The Northern Territory’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 2026 marks a historic milestone, restoring end-of-life choice to Territorians after a three-decade campaign. The NT was the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise voluntary assisted dying in 1995. However, the Commonwealth Parliament controversially overturned the legislation in 1997 and prevented the territories from making laws on VAD for the next 25 years.

Australian Unions have secured an increase in the vehicle allowance paid to community and aged care workers following an application to the Fair Work Commission. The Commission has agreed to temporarily increase the allowance from $1.01 to $1.05 per kilometre for workers covered by the relevant aged care and community sector awards. The increase, led by Australian Unions, including input by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, will apply from 1 September 2026 until 28 February 2027.

Although a clear and concise definition of wellbeing remains elusive, because of its complexity, one thing is increasingly clear, organisations can (and do) influence our wellbeing at work.1-2 Broadly, wellbeing has two interconnected branches: Individual wellbeing includes attributes such as experiencing positive emotions and moods, high life satisfaction, being cheerful and optimistic, and demonstrating self-awareness and mindfulness.1 Organisational wellbeing reflects the quality of the...

Intravenous (IV) fluids are one of the most common clinical interventions in acute care. While often essential to patient care, inappropriate initiation, monitoring or continuation can contribute to avoidable patient harm. The Commission has developed guidance and resources to support safe, appropriate and sustainable use of IV fluids across the patient journey, including .

With women making up around 88% of Australia’s nursing, midwifery and care worker workforce^, we understand the importance of providing health support that reflects the unique needs of the people who dedicate their lives to caring for others. As the health insurer for the nursing, midwifery and care worker community, Nurses & Midwives Health is committed to supporting women through every stage of life.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says the drop from11.5% to 11.3% over the past six months was driven by wage gains for women in lower paid work, including in the health sector, off the back of key reforms to end the historic practice of undervaluing work in female dominated occupations.

The All-Electric Healthy Hospitals campaign is seeking $1.5 million in funding from the federal government to invest in feasibility studies for a nine-hospital electrification pilot program. The nine hospitals proposed in the pilot cover different climates and metro, regional and remote areas across every state and territory.

The findings have prompted the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) to call for a range of measures to address systemic problems across the sector, including replacing care minutes with mandated staffing ratios, risk assessments and person-centred care planning to prevent and manage workplace violence and aggression, and greater transparency and accountability over the use of government aged care funding.

A majority of participating ANMF (SA Branch) members voted not to accept the final offer of a 16% pay rise over three years put forward as part of the Enterprise Bargaining process. In response to the ballot outcome, the South Australian Government has indicated it will pursue arbitration before the South Australian Employment Tribunal to resolve the matter.