The ANMF (Vic Branch) welcomes the release of the Maternity Taskforce Report and recommendations for improving access and models of care, including establishing a workforce database to guide workforce planning and developing a maternity and newborn workforce plan. The ANMF (Vic Branch) also acknowledges the Government’s commitment to appoint Victoria’s first Chief Midwife, a key recommendation of the report released today, 7 November.
ANMF is a member of the Victorian Maternity Taskforce that was formed in 2024 to strengthen maternity care by addressing workforce challenges and improving service delivery, with a focus on regional Victoria.
“The appointment of a Chief Midwife will ensure that midwives are represented in all discussions about their profession by a clinical leader who understands the maternity system,” said ANMF (Vic Branch) Assistant Secretary and former ANMF maternity services officer Nicole Allan, a member of the Taskforce.
“ANMF looks forward to working closely with the Chief Midwife, who will need to have the authority to drive reform and implement these recommendations.”
According to the NMBA statistics, Victoria has the country’s largest midwifery workforce with 9,633 midwives (June 2025 NMBA registration report) but last year’s Midwifery Future’s report identified widespread local staffing shortfalls, particularly in non-metropolitan areas. The report also found one in three midwives are considering leaving the profession amid high rates of burnout, anxiety, stress and low rates of satisfaction.
ANMF State Secretary Maddy Harradence said “ANMF is doing everything within our power to improve the conditions for our midwifery members – with improved pay and allowances, improved ratios, and improved models of care that ensure midwives are working to their full scope – and will continue to work with the government and the Department of Health.
“ANMF has more than 7,000 midwife members, and our members want to work in a system that provides access, choice and flexibility to them and to women in their choice of maternity care. These recommendations will go some way to delivering those outcomes by providing a roadmap for structural reform over the next decade.”
“Recommendation 9, to develop a maternity and newborn workforce plan, is a critical first step in identifying the short, medium and long term actions needed to support the future of maternity service delivery in Victoria, particularly in regional Victoria.”
“However, this recommendation and others cannot happen without a strong midwifery workforce and we strongly support the report’s findings relating to the importance of addressing burnout, improving retention and ensuring the sustainability of the midwifery workforce.”
