Over recent years, nurses, midwives and care workers have helped drive significant reforms made to healthcare and the professions they work in. This has included advances in gender equity; industrial relations reforms including wage increases through the Aged Care Work Value Case, stronger delegate rights; and long-awaited improvements in aged care with 24/7 registered nurse coverage and mandated care minutes.
Meanwhile there has been health reform that has expanded scope of practice for endorsed midwives and nurse practitioners while most recently RN prescribing standard has been introduced.
While these reforms mark real progress, their full impact is yet to be fully realised by those working on the ground. For example, some aged care providers are still failing to pass on the full wage increases to staff, even though they are funded by taxpayers to do so.
The ANMF remains focused on ensuring every reform translates into meaningful, tangible improvements for nurses, midwives, care workers, and the communities they serve. In 2026, our mission is clear: enforceable standards, fair pay, safer workplaces, and health centred policies that deliver genuine change on the floor, not just promises on paper.
The ANMF welcomed federal government initiatives in 2025 to strengthen Medicare, including expanded bulk-billing incentives.
One in 10 Australians were unable to afford healthcare they required in 2025, according to research by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia. Nearly half (49%) delayed care due to cost, only 32% felt confident they could afford treatment if seriously ill, and 28% avoided dental visits because of expense.
The government announced expansion of bulk billing to all Australians and introduced incentive payments for practices that bulk-bill every patient. By 2030, nine out of 10 GP visits are expected to be bulk-billed, with the number of fully bulk-billed practices tripling to around 4,800 nationally.
Other Medicare reforms include: opening 90 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, with 47 more planned; tripling the bulk-billing incentive; establishing 61 free Medicare Mental Health Centres; lowering the maximum cost of PBS-listed medicines to $25 from January 2026; and freezing concession prices at $7.70 until 2030.
Expansion of Medicare incentives would enable more people in the community to access timely, affordable healthcare, said Ms Butler.
“More bulk-billed services mean more Australians can access care when they need it. As nurses and midwives, we see the consequences of delayed treatment—more people ending up in overstretched emergency departments or with worse health outcomes.”
As a member of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce, Ms Butler emphasised the role of nurses and midwives in improving equity. “Nurses and midwives, who make up the majority of the workforce, have the expertise to vastly improve access for communities across Australia.”
Victorian registered nurse and midwife Abbi Ainsworth said the federal government needs to recognise the skills of nurse prescribers to improve healthcare delivery by granting them PBS rights. “Primary care nurses and midwives also require access to Medicare item numbers for prescribing in rural, remote, and urban communities where they support marginalised populations.”
In a major boost to improving healthcare access and delivery is the change in nursing regulation enabling experienced registered nurses to prescribe a range of medicines. The move, signed off by state and federal health ministers means eligible RNs will be able to prescribe Schedule 2,3,4 and 8 medications on completion of approved training.
The ANMF will continue to advocate for broader access to MBS and PBS rebates for advanced practice nurses, nurse practitioners, and endorsed midwives, as well as increased nurse-led and midwife-led models of care. For example, Medicare item numbers are being added to cover insertion and removal of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) by nurse practitioners. The ANMF is advocating for endorsed midwives to also have access to the MBS for insertion and removal of LARCs. These initiatives will strengthen primary healthcare delivery, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, rural and remote Australians, and marginalised groups for whom healthcare remains inaccessible or inequitable. Such reforms will also boost job satisfaction, aiding retention and recruitment.
