Every year before the Federal Budget, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) sends a Pre-Budget Submission to the Australian Government.
It may sound like a policy process happening far away in Canberra, but it plays an important role in shaping the funding and policies that affect your job, your patients and the health system you work in every day.
Here’s what you need to know…
Why the ANMF makes a budget submission
The Federal Budget decides how billions of dollars are spent across Australia’s health system.
That funding affects things like:
- staffing levels
- aged care services
- education and training places
- workforce support programs
- primary and community healthcare.
By making a Pre-Budget Submission, the ANMF ensures nurses’ and midwives’ experiences from the frontline are part of those decisions.
It’s one of the keyways the profession’s voice is heard when governments decide where health funding should go.
How the process works
Preparing a budget submission starts months before the Federal Budget.
Step 1 – Listening to members
The ANMF identifies the biggest issues affecting nurses, midwives and care workers.
These priorities come from:
- member feedback through Branches
- workplace experiences
- research and workforce data
- government inquiries
Step 2 – Turning issues into policy
ANMF policy experts then develop detailed proposals outlining what needs to change and why investment is needed.
Step 3 – Taking the message to government
The submission is provided to the Australian Treasury and federal government as part of the official consultation process.
The ANMF also raises its priorities directly with ministers, MPs and advisors to ensure they understand the real impact of funding decisions on the workforce.
What the ANMF is calling for this year
A major focus of this year’s submission is strengthening and supporting the nursing and midwifery workforce.
Supporting students and future nurses
The ANMF is calling for:
- more Commonwealth-supported university places
- more Fee-Free TAFE places
- continued support for the Commonwealth Prac Payment
- financial help with placement costs like travel and accommodation
- freezing HECS debts and improving student income support.
These measures aim to remove financial barriers that prevent students from completing their nursing or midwifery studies.
Keeping nurses and midwives in the workforce
Burnout, unsafe workloads and cost-of-living pressures are pushing many nurses and midwives out of the profession.
The submission calls for:
- funded transition-to-practice programs
- better mentoring and clinical support
- stronger mental health support for the workforce
- secure, permanent jobs, particularly in regional areas
- improved national workforce planning.
Safe staffing
Safe staffing levels are essential for both patient safety and workforce retention.
The ANMF is calling for nationally consistent minimum staffing levels so safe care does not depend on where someone lives or works.
Fixing aged care
Despite reforms since the Royal Commission, aged care workers say the system still needs major improvement.
The ANMF is pushing for:
- stronger enforcement of staffing and care-minute requirements
- better skill mix in facilities
- fair wages and secure jobs
- guaranteed direct care time for enrolled nurses
- improved access to home care services.
Expanding nurse- and midwife-led care
Nurses and midwives can improve access to care, particularly in regional and underserved communities.
The ANMF is calling for:
- fewer barriers preventing nurses and midwives working to full scope
- permanent funding for key Medicare initiatives
- stronger support for nurses in primary care
- investment in continuity of midwifery care and Birthing on Country programs.
Nurses and midwives are often the first to see where the health system is under pressure. The ANMF’s Pre-Budget Submission ensures those frontline experiences help shape national health policy.
The message to government is simple: Investing in nurses, midwives and care workers means better care for patients and a stronger health system for everyone.
