The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) has welcomed the increased national focus on the midwifery workforce challenges with the release of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s ‘Midwifery Futures’ report.
ANMF (Vic Branch), which has more than 6000 midwifery members, acknowledges the NMBA’s 32 recommendations particularly the development of a national midwifery strategy and the importance of midwifery leadership.
According to the NMBA statistics, Victoria has the country’s largest midwifery workforce with 9602 midwives (June NMBA registration report) up from 9086 in June 2019. Ten years ago, the state had 8199 midwives.
ANMF (Vic Branch) Assistant Secretary Madeleine Harradence said the ‘Midwifery Futures’ report provided a roadmap for all jurisdictions to build a robust, autonomous and thriving midwifery workforce.
‘It provides momentum for the work underway in Victoria – the continuing advocacy of the ANMF (Vic Branch), the FUCHSIA report, the Victorian Department of Health’s Midwifery Advisory Group and the newly announced Victorian Maternity Service Taskforce.
‘The union continues to do everything in its power to improve midwives’ working conditions through improved midwife to patient ratios, advocacy for the continued growth of continuity models and improved pay and entitlements achieved in the recent public sector enterprise agreement outcome,’ Ms Harradence said.
‘We’re trying to create working conditions that encourage midwives to stay in the profession that they love and over the last five years we have seen Victoria’s workforce grow by 516 midwives,’ she said.
‘However, we know that’s not the end of the story,’ Ms Harradence said, ‘There’s more work to do around retaining experienced midwives and ensuring that early career midwives stay in their chosen profession.’
‘There are better rostering practices, midwifery student employment models, career path strategies and models of care that, if implemented, could better support and retain our passionate midwifery workforce across the state.’
ANMF (Vic Branch) Maternity Services Officer and midwife Nicole Allan said: ‘Our members want to work in a system that supports and promotes the midwifery profession. They want a system that provides access, choice and flexibility to them and as a consequence to women in their choice of maternity care ─ a woman-centred approach.
‘Our members also tell us they’re disillusioned with midwifery; they seek manageable workloads, decreased interventions, midwifery autonomy to work to their full professional scope of practice in models of care that facilitate continuity and traditional ways of working. ANMF is committed to advocating for their well-deserved and informed claims.’
In June, ANMF finalised a new public sector enterprise agreement with initiatives to address casualisation of the workforce and rebuild a permanent workforce by retaining experienced midwives and recruiting new midwives. The 2024-28 Victorian public sector nurses and midwives agreement, which is awaiting Fair Work Commission approval, includes:
- a 28.4% pay increase over four years
- ensuring senior midwifery leadership positions in all maternity services from level 4 and up – this means a senior midwife (one EFT) to be appointed at Mildura Public Hospital, West Gippsland Hospital and Central Gippsland Hospital Service (Sale) by 1 January 2025
- a new allowance to apply if a midwife is the sole midwife on duty within a ward at a maternity service.
- the appointment of liaison midwives for each region across the Victoria
- recognition of endorsed midwives in the definitions and a new endorsed midwife allowance
- an improved maternity continuity of care model clause that now references maternity antenatal, postnatal and domiciliary models (MAPS), plus a review of the pay of midwives working in these models
- registered nurses participating in the postgraduate midwifery employment model will be employed at a minimum 0.6EFT and will be paid at their substantive rate for all clinical and supervised placement in special care nursery, pre-natal, postnatal and birthing suite
- increased penalties and allowances to incentivise a permanent workforce, for example by 2028 the Sunday night shift penalty will be $223
- the reintroduction of permanent night shift for those who choose it because it suits their family circumstances and lifestyle, reducing the requirement for other midwives to rotate onto night shift as often.
As part of the 2022 Andrews/ Allan Government election commitments ANMF has secured an improved antenatal and postnatal night shift ratio to 1:4 (currently 1:6) in Maternity Capability Level 4 (load sharing), 5 and 6 services. Victorian public hospitals have had mandated minimum ratios in birthing suites and postnatal since 2001. Midwife to patient ratios have been legislated in Victoria since 2015.
During the last decade ANMF has secured a number of midwifery workforce initiatives including: funding for free access to midwifery refresher programs; midwifery postgraduate scholarships; financial assistance to undertake the Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery (in 2023 and 2024); staggered financial bonuses up to $5000 for nursing and midwifery students who completed their studies in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and if they complete two years in the public health system; the registered student of midwifery employment model (RUSOM); and the recent removal of the formulary (medicine list) so that midwives are now able to prescribe relevant medicines within their scope of practice.
ANMF has also provided nursing members financial assistance to undertake postgraduate midwifery studies which is the quickest way to increase the number of midwives.
Media contact: Robyn Asbury 0417 523 252 │ rasbury@anmfvic.asn.au
The ANMF (Vic Branch) has more than 105,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health and aged care sectors.
