This month’s newsletter is dedicated to acknowledging the invaluable contributions of our internationally qualified nurses and midwives bring to the workforce. Australia has over 16,000 nurses who identify as international. These numbers highlight the growing role of international professionals in shaping our healthcare system.
Many of you likely have colleagues who studied and qualified outside of Australia or have received care from international nurses or midwives. As healthcare organisations strive to foster culturally inclusive environments, many are developing strategies that recognise the immense value of staff from different cultural backgrounds.
A recent article emphasized the increasing necessity of bilingual skills in healthcare, stating:
"Bilingual nurses are becoming a critical necessity, serving as a bridge between patients and medical staff, and helping mitigate the risk of miscommunication and medical errors. It’s essential to provide these nurses with proper support to ensure they can deliver the best outcomes for patients from all cultural backgrounds."
Despite these positive strides, challenges such as cultural safety and racism persist within the healthcare sector. The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) released an insightful paper on the cultural safety gap that continues to affect our profession.
On 23 April, the NMBA’s ‘Registration Standard: General Registration for Internationally Qualified Registered Nurses’ came into effect. The standard builds on established pathways to streamline the assessment and registration process for eligible IQRNs who have practised as a registered nurse in an NMBA-approved comparable international jurisdiction. The streamlined process will significantly cut the time and complexity for eligible applicants wanting to work in Australia.
The standard particularly benefits experienced IQRNs who have demonstrated they possess the skills, knowledge, and competence to provide safe and effective care in Australia by completing at least 1,800 hours of practice in a comparable jurisdiction since 2017 and meeting the professional standards in those regions.
NMBA-approved comparable jurisdictions are as follows:
For this edition of our newsletter, we chatted to several internationally qualified nurses and midwives currently working in Australia about their experiences.
Andrew works in a metropolitan tertiary women’s health service. Learn more about Andrew’s journey here.
Robert works at a community residential unit that provides extended withdrawal support for patients requiring additional time to stabilise their physical and mental health after addiction treatment. Learn more about Robert’s experience here.
Maeve currently works in Graduate, Bridging, and Postgraduate midwifery programs at a tertiary, metropolitan women’s health service. Learn more about Maeve here.
Learn more about Alex here.
Our professional Code of Conduct emphasises that providing care, free of bias and racism is a collective responsibility. We are all tasked with challenging assumptions and creating an environment where everyone—patients and staff alike—feel safe and respected. To strengthen our commitment to cultural safety, one practical step is engaging in cultural safety training or reviewing local practices to ensure inclusivity.