Federal Budget 2025-26
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) believes the significant investment in health in tonight's Budget will improve patient access to the healthcare services they need, where and when they need them, and paves the way for better use of nursing skills and leadership when ongoing review recommendations are implemented.
ACN CEO, Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN, said the full benefit of the new health funding will only be realised when the nursing workforce is allowed to work to the full scope of their education, skills, and ability.
"This means implementing the recommendations of the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce - Scope of Practice Review," Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.
"All parties and candidates at the upcoming election must support and commit to implementing the Scope of Practice Review recommendations to ensure all Australians, no matter their means or where they live, can get the care they need when they need it - not at the end of a long queue or having to travel hundreds of kilometres.
"Nurses and midwives are the solution to relieving health workforce pressures, especially in rural, regional, and remote communities, where there are no local doctors or where doctors are retiring or leaving town for other reasons.
"There must also be support for genuine multidisciplinary teams - GPs, nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, allied health professionals - working together under new blended payment systems to improve patient access to care.
"Nurses working in hospitals and aged care also need more support.
"ACN wants to see funding for nurse-led clinics in more locations, support for nursing leadership development, support for advanced practice nursing roles, and strategies to better manage nurse workplace wellbeing and retention.
"These reforms will provide improved career pathways for nurses and midwives, keep nurses in nursing, and attract other nurses back to the profession they love.
"The demand for quality accessible health care in Australia is at record levels and will only increase with rising rates of chronic and complex conditions, an ageing population, deteriorating health indicators, unmet Close the Gap targets, and workforce shortages across many health professions.
"Tonight's big boost to health funding will pay big dividends in the coming years and decades if nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives are supported to work to their full capacity to provide the care that communities across the country are crying out for," Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.
ACN commends the following Budget measures:
- Expansion of bulk billing incentives to all Australians and introduction of a new Practice Incentive Payment for practices that commit to universal bulk billing;
- Cheaper PBS medicines;
- 50 additional Medicare Urgent Care Clinics;
- Increased hospital spending;
- Funding for women's healthcare, including a new PBS listing for menopausal hormone therapy and new clinics for endometriosis treatment;
- Investment in digital mental health services, with free services for vulnerable groups,
- Pay rises for aged care nurses;
- Cost-of-living relief for millions of Australians, as cost-of-living pressures have an impact on people's physical and mental health.
ACN will continue advocating for evidence-based healthcare policy and investment in the nursing profession, as per its Pre-Budget Submission, to ensure Australia maintains a world-class healthcare system.
