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Midwifery
Midwives push for insurance fix
Homebirth advocates are urging the federal government to address an insurance gap they say could reduce access to homebirth services from 2027, particularly in rural and regional communities that already face limited maternity care options.
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Industry & Reform
Vic launches Women’s Pain Standard
Victoria has launched an Australian-first Women’s Pain Standard after an inquiry found widespread experiences of medical bias, delayed diagnoses and inadequate treatment for women experiencing pain across the healthcare system.
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AI
AI in the ICU
AI could help clinicians identify high-risk intensive care patients earlier, with researchers developing a machine learning model capable of predicting ICU mortality with more than 98 per cent accuracy while explaining its clinical reasoning.
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Midwifery
Can birth debriefs prevent trauma?
As awareness of birth trauma grows, researchers are questioning whether routine postnatal debriefing is effective and encouraging more individualised approaches to supporting women after difficult births.
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Career & Learning
Career ‘guesswork’ driving nurse frustration
A new Australian College of Nursing report has found many nurses view career progression as “guesswork”, with workforce leaders warning clearer pathways and stronger support are needed to improve retention and sustainability.
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Digital Health
First National Health Literacy Framework launched
A new national framework will guide governments, health services and community organisations in improving health literacy, with modelling suggesting better health literacy could save Australia $7.3 billion annually.
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Midwifery
NSW reports 10% midwife workforce growth
NSW has increased its midwifery workforce by more than 10 per cent since 2023, while expanding continuity of care models and seeking community feedback to help shape maternity services over the next decade.
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Workforce
Women 70% of global health workforce
Women have driven the remarkable growth of the global health workforce over the past three decades, but a new study estimates the world still needs an additional 34.4 million health workers to achieve moderate universal health coverage.
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Clinical Practice
NT legalises voluntary assisted dying
New Northern Territory laws will allow eligible adults experiencing intolerable suffering from terminal illness to access voluntary assisted dying, while introducing measures reflecting the Territory's unique cultural and geographic circumstances.
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Wages
Aged care nurses receive final wage increase
Aged care nurses have received a fifth wage increase, completing a series of Fair Work Commission-ordered pay rises that have lifted annual earnings by up to $36,000 since 2022 and increased investment in workforce retention.
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Industry & Reform
Nurses gain PBS prescribing powers
Registered nurses will be able to prescribe PBS-subsidised medicines for the first time from October, with the Federal Government and nursing leaders saying the reform will improve access to care, particularly in aged care and rural communities.
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Digital Health
Telstra outage reveals health system vulnerability
The Telstra outage disrupted more than emergency calls. Experts say modern healthcare’s dependence on mobile networks means telehealth, medical devices and access to health information may all have been affected.
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