Work level standards for nurses and midwives
The ACT Public Service Work Level Standards for Nurses and Midwives is available on the ACTPS Employment Portal website.
Work Level Standards promote an understanding of the nursing and midwifery classification levels used within ACT Health to aid career planning, development and strategic workforce planning.
The Work Level Standards describe the distinctive professional skills and responsibilities required of nurses and midwives at each classification level.
They reflect the overall responsibilities and values expected of nurses and midwives, their contribution to ACT Health or Canberra Health Services, and the degree of complexity and responsibility of duties, skills and knowledge in accordance with classification level.
Work Level Standards are cyclically reviewed by ACT Health through the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.
Work Level Standards are distinct from the professional standards for practice adopted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to regulate nurses and midwives nationally.
Our position on midwives working in maternal, child and family health
The position of the Australian Capital Territory Nursing and Midwifery Office is that registered midwives, who have completed a post graduate qualification in maternal, child and family health, can work to the full scope of practice in this speciality area in the ACT.
Regulation
There are no statutory impediments for midwives to work in this clinical speciality. Maternal, Child and Family Health is not a qualification that requires registration, therefore there are no legislative barriers to progressing this opportunity for midwives.
Scope of practice
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Midwife Standards for Practice (2018) includes that: midwives may extend their individual scope of practice beyond the postnatal period through additional education, competency and authorization.
The Standards for Practice also support that the midwife’s practice may extend to women’s health, reproductive and sexual health, and child and family health care.
Professional requirements
To work in Maternal, Child and Family Health in the ACT both midwives and nurses must:
- be registered or be eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
- have a recognised, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council certified, post graduate qualification in Child and Family Health or equivalent
- complete local area competency assessments and orientation requirement.
The professional title will be Maternal, Child and Family Health (or local service name) Registered Midwife or Registered Nurse or both RN/RM. For example: Maternal and Child Health (MACH) Midwife, MACH Nurse, MACH RN/RM.
Evidence
The ACT Nursing and Midwifery Office commissioned a curriculum ‘gap analysis’ report which established that both the Registered Nurse and the Registered Midwife undergraduate degrees at the University of Canberra equip graduates with the appropriate knowledge base to undertake the Maternal, Child and Family Health graduate qualification.
This work, aligned to a similar ‘mapping’ exercise in Western Australia, underpins the ACT position that a registered midwife, who has completed a qualification in Maternal, Child and Family Health that is recognised by Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council, can be employed and work across the full scope of clinical practice.
References
- The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Midwife Standards for Practice (2018)
- Report on the mapping of maternal and child health content in bachelor of midwifery and bachelor of Nursing: University of Canberra. (2022) Dr Jan Taylor PhD, RM, FACM
- Australian College of Midwives (2015). Chief Nurses and Midwifery Officers Briefing Paper: Post Registration Midwifery Career Opportunities. Canberra. ACM
- Australian College of Midwives (2022). Position Statement on Midwives as Maternal, Child and Family Health Practitioners. Canberra. ACM. Australian College of Midwives (2021)
- National Midwifery Guidelines for Consultation and Referral. Canberra. ACM
- Australian College of Nursing (2021). Position Statement Maternal Child and Family Health Nursing. Canberra. ACN
- Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council – program accreditation
Questions or feedback
Contact the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office by email nmo@act.gov.au.