The Nursing Industry in Australia

Running head: NURISING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 1
Analysis of the Nursing Industry in Australia
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NURSING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 2
Introduction
Nurses comprise the largest proportion in the health care industry, are the first point
of contact with the patient or the first medical professionals that people usually see. The role
of nurses in the Australian health industry is immense, including critical responsibilities to
fulfil in palliative care, emergency health situations, and adult nursing care.
The following sections of the paper will discuss the role of key regulatory bodies
associated with nursing in Australia, the professionals required for assuring successful
nursing provisions and a short reflection on the personal skills on the strength and
weaknesses identified in the nursing profession.
Australian Nursing Industry
According to the annual report provided by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia, the count of registered nurses in 2016/17 was 386,629, a significant increase from
376,086 from the year 2015/16 (Www1.health.gov.au., 2020). The report also highlights the
critical depth of services provided by the nurses as they make up 56.9 per cent of all the
health practitioners registered in the Australian health sector (Www1.health.gov.au., 2020).
Then major regulatory bodies playing a crucial role in structuring the nursing
practices in Australia are Nursing and Midwifery Board (NMBA), Australian Health
Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) and Australian Nursing & Midwifery
Accreditation Council (ANMAC).
The key functionalities of the NMBA regulatory body include registration of
midwifery and nursing practitioners in the country, developing guidelines, codes and
standards for the specified profession, approving accredited courses and accreditation
standards and handling disciplinary hearings, investigations, complaints and notifications
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2020). The NMBA works in collaboration with AHPRA to
ensure collaborative efforts and the highest standards of nursing practice. The AHPRA is

NURSING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3
Australia’s national organisation which is responsible for the implementation of the National
Registration and Accreditation Scheme across the nation. The primary role of this regulatory
body is to ensure that the Australian community has proper access to a healthy and safe
workforce, to fulfil the provision of public safety. This body manages complaints regarding
health practitioners, publishes an online register for them, accredits education and training for
them, facilitates a mobile and safe health workforce for the community, audits the
compliance of the workforce with Board’s requirement and most importantly, ensures public
safety (Ahpra.gov.au., 2020).
The ANMAC is an independent accrediting authority registered under the National
Registration and Accreditation Scheme in Australia. The body ensures delivery of highest
standards of nursing services to the community and ensures patient safety by establishing
high-quality standards of assessment, training and education for the nursing and midwifery
professionals (ANMAC., 2020). Furthermore, it assesses the nursing skills of professionals
for nurses and midwives who want to migrate to Australia with its Skilled Migration Services
under the General Skilled Migration Program.
The other significant and peak nursing regulatory bodies in Australia includes the
Australia College of Nursing (ACN) and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
(ANMF). The prime intent of CAN is to develop and enhance the health care provisions by
increasing the advancement in the nursing leadership field. The Australian College of
Nursing plays a crucial role in nurturing and enhancing the leadership expertise of nursing
professionals to help them develop into passionate and dynamic nurses.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation is a union-run by the midwives and
nurses, with over 274,956 members as reported in the year 2018 (Australian Nursing &
Midwifery Federation, 2020). The federation helps in the advancement and regulation of the
professional, political and industrial interests of the nurses and midwives in Australia.