Support and your professional obligations

Nurse & Midwife Support can be contacted by employers and educators to discuss concerns they may have about the health of their employees or students and explore potential referral options available.

If you have identified a nurse, midwife or student with a health issue, the affected nurse, midwife or student may benefit from receiving details about Nurse & Midwife Support. The service may also provide support to your internal performance management policies.

A nurse, midwife or student with a health issue that amounts to health impairment may also require voluntary or mandatory notification to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). The service may assist in providing further advice with respect to these requirements.

Notification Navigator is Nurse & Midwife Support’s free support service for nurses and midwives who are the subject of a notification.

The service provides nurses and midwives with accessible, professional, confidential, compassionate and individualised assistance throughout the notification process. Run by nurses and midwives, you will be cared for by an experienced nurse and midwife counsellor.

As an opt-in service, if you’re subject to notification, we’re here for you if you need support from someone who understands your situation.

Interested in speaking with a Notification Navigator? Call us at 1800 667 877 or email us.

Registered health practitioners, employers and education providers are required to report ‘notifiable conduct’ under the National Law.

Registered health practitioners, employers and education providers must advise the Ahpra if they have formed a reasonable belief, while practising their profession, that another registered health practitioner has behaved in a way that constitutes notifiable conduct.

Notifiable conduct by registered health practitioners is defined as:

• practising while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs
• sexual misconduct in the practice of the profession
• placing the public at risk of substantial harm because of an impairment (health issue), or
• placing the public at risk because of a significant departure from accepted professional standards.

Education providers are obliged to notify Ahpra if a student has an impairment or health issue that may, either in the course of study or clinical training, place the public at substantial risk of harm.

There are some mandatory reporting exceptions. Go to the Ahpra website to find out more about mandatory notifications.

Why not use our service finder to find out about some of the services available to nurses, midwives and students.

Our service provides free and confidential support 24/7, to nurses, midwives and students Australia wide. If you would like to speak to someone call 1800 667 877, or you can request support via email.

If you would like to know a bit more about the service before getting in contact — take a look through accessing support.