From Friday, November 1, landmark laws had come into effect across Australia, removing barriers, which for too long, prevented nurse practitioners (NPs) and endorsed midwives from prescribing medicines under the PBS and providing services under Medicare because of the outdated requirement for a ‘collaborative arrangement’ with a medical practitioner.

The Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Annie Butler, said the ANMF, along with other national nursing and midwifery peak bodies, had worked tirelessly over the past 14 years to advocate for the removal of the restrictive collaborative arrangement, in an effort to ensure people get better access to quality healthcare.

“This is a big win for NPs and endorsed midwives and the people they care for and support in the community,” Ms Butler said.

“The requirement for a ‘collaborative arrangement’ was never about clinical supervision or clinical collaboration, but access to payments and funding under the PBS and Medicare. That’s why removing these barriers will finally allow highly-qualified NPs and endorsed midwives to work autonomously to their full scope, providing people with better access to quality care without the need to visit a GP surgery or wait in a crowded hospital ED.

“We’ve seen the success and popularity of nurse-led clinics in Tasmania and the ACT and these reforms will now empower more NPs and endorsed midwives to work to their full skill-set, training and education, expanding the provision of healthcare in the community, continuing to support multi-disciplinary models of care. This will be particularly beneficial in rural and remote communities where chronic workforce shortages continue to impact care outcomes.

“From our perspective, the removal of collaborative arrangements will not only improve access to health care for many currently underserved communities, it also values, recognises and respects the advanced skills and high-levels of expertise of NPs and endorsed midwives.”

Originally introduced to the House of Representatives by the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged care and the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Ged Kearney, on 20 March 2024, the Health Legislation Amendment (Removal of the Requirement for a Collaborative Arrangement) Bill was passed in the Senate on 17 May 2024.

The Bill was supported in both Houses of the Parliament. It took effect on Friday, 1 November 2024.