I write through the lens of lived experience and from within the health system I was born into—one that now remunerates me for the care I provide as a Registered Nurse.

As nurses and midwives, we work at the intersection of people and systems, and that places us in a powerful place to advocate for change.

Being part of the NSWNMA Anti- Racism Collaborative matters to me because racism is finally being named.

Too often, it operates quietly through systems of power and control, directing the narrative of who feels safe, respected, and heard. The same systems that uphold culturally unsafe workplaces for staff also compromise the quality of care provided to our communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remain over-represented in health and hospital systems, alongside many people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Many experience a loss of dignity through being treated as second-class citizens. When dignity is undermined, human rights are compromised, and health outcomes are affected.

This work asks us, to reflect on whose voices are marginalised and whose contributions are overlooked. It challenges us to question whether long-standing power dynamics continue to shape healthcare today and to actively interrupt them.

The Collaborative gives me hope. It signals a commitment to a future that does not allow old systems to continue growing unchecked—like a vine reinforcing the structures of racism—but instead creates space for new growth grounded in truth-telling, accountability, and justice.

Culturally unsafe care is clinically unsafe care. Anti-racism is not an optional add-on to nursing and midwifery practice—it is central to ethical, culturally safe, and human rights–based healthcare.

Michelle Cutmore, Registered Nurse