A Yes vote in the upcoming referendum will help improve 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, ANMF Federal 
Secretary, Annie Butler, told Annual Conference.

The upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum is hugely important for nurses and midwives, whose number one priority is improving the health and delivery of care for all communities across the country, ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, told delegates to the NSWNMA Annual Conference.

Annie, who attended Prime Minister Albanese’s announcement of the referendum date in South Australia in her role as ACTU Vice President, noted that from a health perspective, there are “none so disadvantaged as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”.

“Before 1788, there were more than 2000 generations of healthy babies, healthy children, healthy people, healthy communities. From 1788, it’s only taken seven or eight generations to completely destroy that. And that’s principally because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have had decisions made about them, without them.

“The Voice to Parliament finally gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the opportunity to have a say in anything that involves them, so we can finally address the deep disparities we have across our country.”

Nurses and midwives understand how you need to be listened to in your workplaces and how important it is to have a voice that’s heard, she said. “I think for us … there is no other option but to vote yes. And I’ll be voting yes on 14 October.”

Progress in aged care

Annie also reminded delegates of the significant positive changes implemented in the health sector since the 2022 election of the federal Labor government, but also of the work that still needs to be done.

In October last year, for example, the government passed legislation requiring registered nurses 24/7 in every nursing home, and put in place mandated care minutes. Most recent figures show that “86 per cent of all nursing homes across the country” now have an RN 24/7, she said.

“We know it can be done, and when employers say ‘Oh, we can’t find the staff’, or ‘There’s a shortage; we can’t get registered nurses’… that’s the wrong question. Instead of ‘We can’t do this’, they should be asking ‘How can we do this?’”

Mandated care hours don’t come into force until 1 October this year, but employers have been funded for that increase since October 2022. “We have to keep fighting and keep working to get it done.”

Annie told delegates that we now have a federal government that is “prepared to at least listen and have a genuine discussion” about what reforms are needed.

She noted how she represented the ANMF at the Jobs and Skills summit held in Parliament House in 2022, being one of 100 people invited. “I can’t imagine that ever happening in the previous 10 years, so the doors are definitely starting to open.”

Another positive change is “the removal of red tape and allowing nurse practitioners to work more effectively”. Annie added: “It’s legislatively complicated, so it’s going to take a little while to achieve.”

There is also a “scope of practice review” underway. Federal health minister Mark Butler (no relation) “describes this as unleashing the potential of the health professionals,” Annie Butler said, “which just means getting everybody working to their full scope of practice.”

Another priority issue for the ANMF is making it easier for nurses and midwives to return to work after leaving the profession. “We are currently working with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) on adjustments to getting back on the register and the ‘recency of practice’ standard.”

Aged care reforms have immediate impact

New data shows that only a month after the implementation of 24/7 reforms, RNs are now on-site in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time.

In August, the federal Department of Health and Aged Care released the first month of data from 95 per cent of facilities regarding 24/7 nursing:

• 
On average, there is an RN on-site in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time.
• 
On average, there is an RN on-site in aged care homes for 23.5 hours a day.
• 
86 per cent of facilities now have a nurse on-site 24/7.
• 
The majority of the remaining homes are very close to 24/7 coverage.

Star Ratings now show that more residential aged care homes are at four and five stars and fewer are at one and two stars compared to when Star Ratings were first introduced in December 2022.

“Data from across our aged care reforms continue to demonstrate a positive trajectory, which we are confident will lift the standard of care in the aged care system even further with the introduction of mandatory care minutes targets on 1 October,” said Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells.