Nursing Workforce in Australia: Challenges and Recommendations

This study analyzes the nursing workforce in Australia with respect to the data of 2009, 2012, and 2015. It highlights the challenges faced due to the lack of nursing workforce and provides recommendations to improve the situation. The study also discusses the geographic distribution of the nursing workforce and the characteristics of the workforce. The subject is nursing and the course code is not mentioned. The course name and university are also not mentioned.

Running head: MASTER OF HEALTH SCIENCE
Nursing Workforce
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Question 1........................................................................................................................................3
Question 2........................................................................................................................................5
Question 3........................................................................................................................................7
Question 4........................................................................................................................................8
Question 5........................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference.......................................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................12

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Executive Summary
In Australia, in the year 2012, there were 273,404 RNs and about 60 thousand nurses were
enrolled and registered. Findings suggest that with respect to the health trends in population, and
the combined effect of very fewer retention rates and the ageing workforce has led to an increase
in the shortage of the nursing workforce. The shortfall of the nurses is both projected by the
Health Workforce Australia (HWA) and Australia’s Future Health Workforce – Nurses (AFHW
– Nurses). The findings from the nursing workforce profile say that the headcount is gradually
increasing along with the increasing trends in the FTE nurses. It has also been found that the
nurses working in the rural areas are resigning at a high rate in comparison to the nurses in the
metropolitan areas.

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Introduction
A motivated, skilled and knowledgeable workforce is the critical aspects of the providing
the healthcare to the population of any country. Health workforce is the personnel that provide
the healthcare services like the nurses, doctors, and the ones that work to provide support to the
health services like the ambulance drivers, hospitals managers and the skilled health workers.
The major hindrances in the smooth flow of the healthcare delivery are lack of the proper
workforce along with the inadequate facilities, medicines, consumables, equipment (Leach,
2013). The health system budget includes the 3 main vital demands like the consumables,
physical capital and human resources (WHO, 2018). This study is based on the completion of the
nursing workforce data of 2015 with respect to the data of 2012 and 2009; the other tasks involve
the environmental scan of the Australian nursing workforce; the geographic distribution of the
workforce and the comment on the recommendations of the nursing workforce sustainability
report.
Question 1
The updated workforce of the profile of the nursing workforce in Australia with respect
to the year 2009, 2012, 2015 are as follows:
Note: FTE means full-time equivalent for 38-hour week
Table 1a: characteristics of the workforce with respect to the registered nurses [source:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018]
Workforce
characteristic
2009 2012 2015
Headcount 225,040 238,520 256,034

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FTE nurses 198,924 212,659 225,344
FTE per 100,000
population
905.9 936.4 947.6
Male population 9.8 10.4 10.9
Average age (years) 44.2 44.3 43.4
Proportion aged 50+
(%)
- 37.7 39.0
Table 1b: characteristic of the workforce of the enrolled nurses [source: Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018]
Workforce
characteristic
2009 2012 2015
Headcount 51,711 51,624 51,070
FTE nurses 43,614 42,467 46,753
FTE per 100,000
population
198.2 187.0 196.6
Male population 8.9 9.2 9.4
Average age (years) 44.9 46.0 45.9
Proportion aged 50+
(%)
- 45.5 39.0

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Table 1c: characteristic of the workforce of the employed nurses [source: Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018]
Workforce
characteristic
2009 2012 2015
Headcount 276,751 290,144 307,104
FTE nurses 242,521 255,174 270,548
FTE per 100,000
population
1,104 1,123 1,137
Male population 9.6 10.2 10.7
Average age (years) 44.3 44.6 44.4
Proportion aged 50+
(%)
36.3 39.1 39.0
Question 2
Through the addition of the more recent material, it has been found that the headcount of
the registered nurses for the year 2015 has increased considerably with respect to the year 2009
and 2012. The headcount for the year 2015 is found to be 256,034 which is a big jump from the
headcount of the nurses for the year 2012 (238,520). This is an increase of 7.34 percent with
respect to 2012. The full-time equivalent nurses for the year 2015 has increased with respect to
the year 2009 and 2012. The data presents that the number of the FTE nurses has increased by
5.9 percent with respect to the year 2012. The FTE nurses for the year 2015 has shown an

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increase with respect to the year 2009 and 2012. The increase has been 1.19 percentage over data
mentioned for the year 2012. The percentage of the male population has increased by only a
mere 10.89 percent. The average years of the of the nurses have reduced from 44.3 to 43.3 from
the year 2012 to 2015. The reduction in the average age is 2.03 percent in comparison to the year
2012. The proportion of the nurse above the age of 50 years is 39% it has shown an increase with
respect to the data of 2012. This implicates nursing population is ageing with respect to the
Australian nursing workforce.
The characteristics of the workforce with respect to the enrolled nurses. The headcount has
reduced when the data of 2015 is compared with that of 2012. The data for the year 2015 is
51,070 and the headcount data for the year 2012 is 51,624. The FTE nurses for the year 2015 is
showing a positive increase with respect to the data of the year 2012. The number of the FTE
nurse for the year shows 196.6 while that of 2012 is 187. The male population for the year 2015
shows a slight increase of 9.4 with respect to the year 2012 which shows 9.2 percent. The
average age of the nurses has again reduced for the year 2015, from 46 to 45.9 years. The
proportion of the nurses that are aged above the 50 years is 39 percent in 2015 and this has
reduced in comparison to the year 2012. The reduction in the age shows that the proportion of
the aged nurses is reducing in the enrolled nurse's section.
The characteristic of the workforce of the total employed nurses has shown an increase in the
total number of the nurses for the year 2015 in comparison to the year 2012. The headcount
number show 307,104 nurses. The FTE nurses have also increased from 255,174 for the year
2012 to 270,548 for the year 2015. The FTE nurse per 100,000 populations has also shown an
increase for the year 2015 (1137) with respect to the year 2012 (1123). The percentage of the
male population has increased for the year 2015 which is 10.7 percent in comparison to the male

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population for the year 2012 (10.2). the average age has shown a decrease for the year 2015
(44.4) with respect to the year 2012 (44.6). the proportion of the 50 years and above aged nurse
is 39 percent and the percentage has slightly reduced with respect to the 39.1 percent for the year
2012.
The workforce supplies according to the workforce characteristics shown a positive increase
both in terms of the registered and the enrolled nurses. The female-dominated nursing workforce
also shows an increase. Especially the FTE nurses in both the enrolled and the registered nurse
for the year 2015 is 46,753 and 225,344 respectively.
Question 3
The workforce of the nurse has revealed that the workforce planning is necessary to meet
the ling and the short-term demands of the of the Australian nurses. The analysis has shown that
the demand for the nurses will significantly rise and the supply will be insufficient. The
projections have shown that there will be a shortfall of the around 85 thousand nurses by the year
2025, and by 2030 as more as 123,000 nurses will be required. These predictions are based on
the current settings. The projections of the shortfall for the year 2025 is actually lower in
comparison to the report published in the Health Workforce (HW) 2025 (Health Workforce
2025, 2018; McCarty & Fenech, 2013). The Heath Workforce 2025 projects that there will be a
shortcoming of 109,000 nurses in the year 2025 which is considered under the current scenario.
Australia’s Future Health Workforce (AFHW)-Nurses reveal that the nurses that were used for
the prediction of the Health Workforce 2025 are more willing to stay in the workforce than it is
expected. There exists a lower demand for the nurses in the acute care in the AFHW (2.6
percentage) and in the HW 2025 (2.2 percent) (AFHW, 2018). This reveals a lower demand in
the workforce in this particular sector. The lower retention rates in the rural hospitals in

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comparison to the metropolitan areas have resulted in the reduction of the nurses due to the
resignation (Bragg & Bonner, 2015; Huntington et al., 2012).
The highest percentage of the registered nurse is 46% and enrolled nurse is 38% in the acute
sector. Accordingly, the second highest percentage of the nursing workforce is seen in the other
nursing sectors and the percentage is 22 percent. The second highest number of the enrolled
nurses is seen in the aged care sector (appendix 1).
Question 4
The nursing workforce and its geographic distribution show data which varies spatially
across the states and the territories. The FTE nurses per 100,000 for the Northern Territory is
1534 and for the New South Wales, it is 1036. If the data are compared to that of 2011, then the
FTE per 100,000 populations for Northern Territory and New South Wales is 1504 and 993
respectively (Appendix 2). The FTE per 100,000 populations with respect to the remote areas is
1219 and is 1083 for the outer regions. The percentage of the nurse in the regional and the inner
areas is more than 20% and the enrolled nurse's proportion in Australia is 15.8%.
Comparatively, the enrolled nurse's percentage in the remote areas is very low and is only 12.1%
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018).
Question 5
The highlights of the Nursing Workforce Sustainability Report cite the major
recommendations which are as follows:
 Leadership- leadership in the field of nursing is important for bringing
improvement in the performance, retention of the workforce and increasing the

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productivity. In order to promote effective leadership, the nurse managers need to
be equipped for the purpose of empowerment and encouragement.
 Retention- The new graduates must be helped to meet the standards and the goals
along with the necessary skill sets so that the workforce retention can be
increased.
 Productivity- the environment of the workplace needs to be improved so that the
existing skills and the roles of the nurses meet the local needs (Nursing
Workforce Sustainability, 2018).
Considering the year 2018, the recommendation is still valid because nursing values and
work are all based on the nursing leadership, productivity that promotes better health outcomes
and the retention of the nurse so that the workforce stays intact. The recommendations are the
bedrock and foundation of the nursing field and this is the reason their validity not reduce
(Duckett & Willcox, 2015).
Conclusion
From the study, it can be concluded that currently, Australia is facing challenges in the
field of nursing due to the lack of the nursing workforce. The healthcare demand has increased
considerably due to the ageing population of the workforce and this can be done by increasing
the workforce of the nursing.

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Reference
Bragg, S., & Bonner, A. (2015). Losing the rural nursing workforce: Lessons learnt from
resigning nurses. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 23(6), 366-370.
Health Workforce 2025. (2018). Department of Health | Appendix ii: Health Workforce 2025 -
summary. Health.gov.au. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/work-review-
australian-government-health-workforce-programs-toc~appendices~appendix-ii-health-
workforce-2025-summary
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Nursing and midwifery workforce 2015, Who
are nurses and midwives? - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/workforce/nursing-and-midwifery-workforce-2015/
contents/who-are-nurses-and-midwives
Nursing Workforce Sustainability. (2018). Department of Health | Nursing Workforce
Sustainability - Improving Nurse Retention and Productivity report. Health.gov.au.
Retrieved 5 April 2018, from
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/nursing-workforce-
sustainability-improving-nurse-retention-and-productivity
Huntington, A., Gilmour, J., Neville, S., Kellett, S., & Turner, C. (2012). A glimpse of the future
nursing workforce: the graduate e-cohort study. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing,
The, 29(3), 22.

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McCarty, M. V., & Fenech, B. J. (2013). Towards best practice in national health workforce
planning. The Medical journal of Australia, 199(5), 10-13.
Leach, M. J. (2013). Profile of the complementary and alternative medicine workforce across
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and United Kingdom. Complementary
therapies in medicine, 21(4), 364-378.
Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford
University Press.
WHO. (2018). WHO | Health workforce. Who.int. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from
http://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/workforce/en/
AFHW. (2018). Health.gov.au. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from
https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/34AA7E6FDB8C16AA
CA257D9500112F25/$File/AFHW%20-%20Nurses%20overview%20report.pdf

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Appendix
1.
Registered and the enrolled nurse percentage by the sector [source: Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, 2018]
2.

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The spatial variation of the employed nurse and midwives [source: Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, 2018]