The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is pushing for strengthened nurse-led models of care and a concerted effort to elevate the image of nursing to improve healthcare access for all Australians.
ACN’s Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 states that a strategic and significant investment in nurses and nursing will deliver much-needed benefits so people receive care when and where they need it.
This includes additional support for a growing and ageing population with more people living with multiple chronic and complex conditions.
ACN Chief Executive Officer Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN reinforced the importance of nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives across aged care, acute care and general healthcare settings.
“ACN is proposing achievable initiatives that will attract people to nursing, retain the nurses we have, provide incentives to bring nurses back to the profession, and provide lifelong career pathways for nurses and midwives,” Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.
“Nurses provide care for individuals, families, and communities through all stages of life. We want nurses to stay in the nursing profession through all stages of their working life, providing them with rewarding careers that include variety and the opportunity to lead.
“We want them to stay longer at the end of their careers to be mentors and pass on their wisdom to the next generations of nurses. Patients will benefit. Communities will benefit. The health system will benefit.”
The ACN Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 pitches practical and affordable solutions for the Australian Government across five key areas:
- Elevating the Image of Nursing: Showcasing the vital contributions of nurses across the healthcare continuum to address workforce shortages, improve public perception, and build a stronger pipeline of future nurses.
- Strengthening Nurse-Led Models of Care: Enhancing access to nurse-led services through modernised funding models, expanded referral pathways, and scalable solutions that improve healthcare accessibility and alleviate pressure on primary and acute care services.
- Maximising Nursing Workforce Capability: Providing lifelong learning opportunities, standardising recognition of skills through a National Nursing Capability Passport, enhancing digital proficiency, and preparing nurses to deliver care across specialised areas, including aged care and home-based services.
- Enabling the Practice Environment: Creating supportive environments for nurses through initiatives like clinical supervision, transition-to-retirement strategies, and tailored solutions for rural and remote areas, ensuring equitable and sustainable access to quality care.
- Cultivating Nurse Leadership: Developing mentorship frameworks and leadership programs to empower nurses at all levels to drive innovation, improve workforce retention, and deliver exceptional healthcare outcomes.
Adjunct Professor Zeitz said enabling nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives to work to their full scope of practice is key to achieving meaningful health reform that improves patient access to the care they need.
“Vulnerable populations – rural and remote, First Nations, the elderly, the disadvantaged, the chronically ill – will benefit most from allowing nurses to fully use their skills, qualifications, and experience,” she explained.
“The success of nurse-led clinics is proof. In many communities, nurses are the most qualified and skilled health professionals. In others, they are the only health professionals.
“Nurses are trusted. Nurses are respected. They can do more. They want to do more.”
Numerous recommendations are also aged care specific, with ACN urging the government to invest more in nursing to facilitate ageing in place. This includes allocating $2 million to develop specialised home aged care nursing services education and $52 million over five years to fund relevant education scholarships.
“Specialised education programs in home care nursing should enable nurses to deliver care that aligns with the individual needs of older Australians in a setting of their choice,” the submission detailed.
“Investing in such education programs will elevate the overall standard of care in the aged care sector, ensuring that nurses are well-prepared to deliver high-quality, compassionate care.”
The organisation has also asked for an additional $500,000 to help enhance leadership courses for nurses, including creating a specialised program for aged care nurse leaders.
ACN’s submission described the problem in more detail, stating that many nurse leaders are underprepared for the complexities of modern healthcare leadership.
“Only 33% of Nursing Unit Managers have education beyond an undergraduate level, highlighting a gap in formalised advanced leadership development,” it explained.
“With the demand for NUMs expected to grow by 23.1% by 2026, equipping nurse leaders with the skills to address these challenges is more urgent than ever. Strengthening leadership capabilities at all levels of the nursing profession is vital to building a resilient and effective healthcare system.”
Other recommendations include investing $15 million in a national campaign to promote the image of nursing and $2.5 million over three years to fund scholarships supporting career progression.
ACN’s Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 can be viewed in full here.
