Secure jobs and gender equality form the basis for the Modern Award Review 2023-24
In December 2022, the Fair Work Act was amended to add two new objectives that need to be taken into account when deciding if awards meet the standard required of contemporary industrial relations. The new matters that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) must consider are whether provisions of awards improve access to secure work and […]
Leading with intention
As leaders we need to create experiences on purpose to influence change. What does this mean and how do we go about it? Natalie Dragon talks with midwife and health service improvement coach Jane Stanfield. Jane Stanfield argues it’s not outside anybody’s realm to influence. “It can be done within what you’re already doing but […]
Roster justice needed so workers can plan their lives
Unions have called for roster justice saying new proposals by employer groups for increased flexibility in awards will adversely impact women workers and carers. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) used its reply submission on the work and care stream of the Fair Work Commission’s Modern Awards Review 2023-24 to call for roster justice […]
SA nurses and midwives petition for rural and remote incentives
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) South Australian Branch has launched a public petition calling for urgent rural and remote incentives for nurses and midwives to address the staff shortage that is putting regional country hospital services under threat of closure. The SA government reached an agreement with the ANMF SA Branch in 2022 […]
The Break Glass function in My Health Record: when and how to use it
There are certain urgent situations where health professionals can legally access restricted information in a My Health Record to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a person’s health. This is known as Emergency Access or the break glass function. While it is expected that it will be rarely required, it is important to understand […]
Exercise caution when taking nutritional advice from social media influencers, study finds
Researchers say Australians should think twice about taking dietary and nutritional advice from social media after a national audit of influencer posts revealed nearly half contained inaccurate information. Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) examined nearly 700 Instagram posts by influencers and brands with more than 100,000 followers, finding 45% included false […]
CSIRO reports surge in AI in healthcare
A surge in the amount of digital data in the health sector, together with increases in compute power and the availability of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools are leading to an explosion of AI being used in healthcare, according to a new report from CSIRO. Australia’s national science agency CSIRO AI Trends for Healthcare report […]
PLACEMENT POVERTY: Why nursing and midwifery students must be paid for clinical placements
A growing number of undergraduate nursing and midwifery students nationwide are voicing concerns about the significant challenges posed by hundreds of hours of mandatory unpaid clinical placements. Robert Fedele investigates. Erin Pereira, a former banker turned aspiring midwife, found inspiration in the remarkable work of midwives during the birth of her first child. Now in […]
New sleep regime to help insomnia
For shift workers with a chronically mistimed body-clock, getting a good night’s sleep can be an endless battle. Australian researchers are moving a step closer to discovering how to personalise a sleep regime and readjust the body-clock to help treat some types of insomnia, shift work disorder and other forms of body clock disruption such […]
Young female shift workers hold multiple jobs to make ends meet
A total of 7% of the shift workforce held multiple jobs simultaneously in 2023 – a 25-year high with the majority being young females. All major industries have experienced an unprecedented rise in the number of shift workers working multiple jobs, including 7% of healthcare workers, the data from shift work management platform Deputy found. […]