The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is focused on driving meaningful change in 2025 to ensure better conditions for nurses, midwives, carers, students and to meet the health and aged care needs of the community
Recognising the critical milestones we have already achieved like wage increases and mandated care minutes, we know progress is possible.
The ANMF’s vision is to prioritise reforms that support recruitment and retention, empower nurses and midwives to work to their full scope of practice to ensure accessible and affordable healthcare, and deliver improved outcomes for women.
In the past two years, the ANMF and union movement have won the biggest changes to workers’ rights and conditions seen in generations.
Industrial relations reforms, achieved through Closing Loopholes and the Secure Jobs Better Pay Act, helped deliver new right to disconnect laws, better protections for union delegates, and new minimum standards and protections for ‘employee-like workers’ and casuals, just to name a few. Meanwhile, the ANMF’s landmark Aged Care Work Value Case at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) secured significant wage increases for nurses and AINs working across the sector.
Winning pay rises for aged care workers was just the beginning. In 2025, the ANMF will shift focus to its second Work Value Case, which seeks to vary the Nurses Award 2020 to lift the minimum award wage rates for all RNs, midwives, ENs, and AINs who work in other settings.
The application impacts nurses, midwives and AINs working across a range of settings in the health system including primary healthcare. Like the aged care case, the ANMF’s application seeks to address:
- the impact of historic, gender-based undervaluation of work
- recognise changes to the nature of work performed
- value the skill and responsibility required to do the work; and
- identify and recognise skills that have previously been ignored and, therefore, not properly valued.
If successful, the minimum rates of pay for all classifications and pay points of RNs, ENs, student ENs, nurse practitioners and occupational health nurses in the relevant settings would increase by about 35.8%. The minimum rate of pay for an RN level 1, pay point 1, would move to $1,472.60 per week.
ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler says that while the nature of nurses, midwives and AINs’ work, level of skill and responsibility involved in doing the work, and conditions have changed significantly over the past decades, wages have not kept up.
“The current rates of pay for employees working under the Nurses Award fail to properly value the full spectrum of skills required by nurses, midwives, and AINs,” Ms Butler said.
“Much like their colleagues in aged care, these workers possess ‘invisible skills’ that have long been overlooked and undervalued, leading to chronic underpayment and lack of recognition. This now demands immediate and urgent action.”
WINS
- Between 17.9% and 23% increase to award rates for Assistants in Nursing (AINs) working in aged care under the Nurses Award
- Increases of between 11.8% and 17.6% for Enrolled Nurses (ENs) on top of the 15% interim increase
- Increases of between 6.9% and 16.1% for Registered Nurses (RNs) in addition to the 15% interim increase
- Right to disconnect laws introduced as part of Closing Loopholes reforms
- New rights for union delegates allowing them to speak to members freely about their workplace rights and provide access to training so they can represent workers better
- Multi-employer bargaining laws
ASKS
- Increase minimum rates of pay for nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing (AINs) working under the Nurses Award – Work Value Case – Nurses’ and Midwives’ matter
- Commitment from government to pay increases determined by the Fair Work Commission
- Ensure wins achieved in the Aged Care Work Value Case are implemented and embedded correctly and transparently
9 Responses
Sounds awesome probably be retired by the time it goes through..
When will public sector nurses have the same benefits of salary package compared to aged care employees??? We have been receiving the same minimal benefit for too long
Hairdressers are paid more for my 20 minute trim than I earn in one hour as a practice nurse with 37 years experience.
Very disheartening
I am in the same boat – 40 years + experience . Disheartening to say the least
Finally, some recognition of what we do and accomplish every day. I am an experienced RN working in General Practice with over 30 years experience in nursing and I find it extremely upsetting to hear an EN working in a hospital setting gets paid more than me. I am not begrudging the EN ‘s award wage at all, they are vital to our health system, but I feel I’m being punished because I choose to work in a different setting, one that I love and gives me great satisfaction & sense of accomplishment with the work I do. Everyone deserves to be paid their worth and currently this isn’t happening.
Its about time that nurses were recognised for their skills, dedication and experience. I have over 30 years experience as a Registered Nurse and 2 Graduate certificates but my 18 year old son who is a 1st year electrical apprentice gets paid more than I do. I am not begrudging him but where is the fairness in that?
I earn more in my casual ad hoc security job doing day shift than I earn as a casual enrolled nurse in a GP clinic or when I worked in the hospital. Really doesn’t make sense at all.
Who will be responsible for this potential pay increase ?? Will the government support private general practices to accommodate these said pay increases?? Most can’t afford such high increases. This will lead to nursing redundancies in some General Practices. Don’t get me wrong pay equity is essential for this undervalued extremely skilled nursing cohort, but who is paying??
It will add increased work load to decreased nurse numbers. We pay over award at our practice but this will totally blow our budget.
You must lobby the government to support GP practices to provide proposed potential wage increases
Agreed, with all your comments. I have been nursing for 14years (mix of hospital, aged care and GP) and almost 10years in general practice and I’m getting to a point of resentment, purely due to the wage. Its not fair. I love general practice nursing but I can’t pay bills with kindness. Cost of living and everything else goes up, except our wage. I don’t want to be a complainer but gee its tough work and a kick in the guts to not be renumerated properly. I feel so undervalued. I’m hoping the ANMF can get this over the line.
Teachers , physios, OTs, Social work , police ,firemen, basically ALL the services earn more than Nurses ! WHY ?? It really sickens me. Feel VERY undervalued by the government and I’ve been an RN for 33 years.