Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall has called on the State Government to adopt the same policy as Victoria, paying for nurses and midwives undergraduate and postgraduate university studies, as a way of helping attract more people into the profession.
Monday, 29 August 2022
NORTHERN Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has today called on the State Government to follow its Victorian counterparts lead and urgently step in to make university studies for new nurses and midwives fee-free.
The Victorian initiative was announced over the weekend, to bi-partisan support, and Mr Marshall said that it was vital the NSW Government also offered the support to ensure the upskilling of the nursing workforce and prevent a ‘brain-drain’ into the neighbouring state.
“Today I’ve written to the Minister for Health and Minister for Regional Health requesting the same offer be put on the table for aspiring nurses and midwives to train here in NSW,” Mr Marshall said.
“The fact that a government of a different political persuasion in another State has developed and announced it should be no barrier to implementing the same good public policy here in NSW, as quickly as possible.
“It could be a real game-changer for the nursing and midwifery professions, helping to attract more school leavers and mature-aged students looking for a career change.
“Given this new policy has bi-partisan support in Victoria, no matter who wins the November election down there, it be in place from next year.
“I fear that if we don’t do the same here in NSW, we risk losing thousands of potential future NSW nurses and midwives to Victoria forever.”
The Victorian initiative combines a scholarship payment of up to $16,500 to cover three years of full-time study and will be offset by two years of work in the Victorian public health service, so that across the five-year program, training will be free.
“This is a practical way to attract more recruits into this profession as well as opening a pathway to those for whom financial restrictions have made a degree and career in nursing unattainable,” Mr Marshall said.
“Let’s not delay – I want to see NSW get this offer on the table before Victoria starts to recruit from across the border our best and brightest.”
The Victorian Government’s plan has been costed as a $270 million program to recruit and train 17,000 nurses and midwives, with 10,000 of those expected to be new students,
“Additionally, I am calling on the NSW Government to duplicate other payments to upskill existing nurses and midwives,” Mr Marshall said.
“This includes scholarships of up to $10,000 for postgraduate nurses to complete specialty studies, $11,000 scholarships for enrolled nurses to become registered nurses, $12,000 scholarships to support training and employment of 100 new Nurse Practitioners.
“I am urging the adoption of this practical and effective way to boost our domestic health workforce.”