Nearly 800 nurses have told the Australian College of Nursing they want to remain in the profession but need clearer career paths and better support to do so.
Australia is heading towards a shortage of nearly 80,000 nurses by 2035 as nurses already in the workforce report burnout, unsupported leadership responsibilities and difficulty seeing a sustainable path through their careers.
A new Australian College of Nursing report, based on consultation with nearly 800 nurses across Australia, found nurses remained overwhelmingly proud of their profession but were under sustained pressure from multiple directions.
Asked what they needed to build sustainable careers, 61% nominated better knowledge and navigation, 56% skills and development and 42% resources and support.
Nurses frequently described career progression as “guesswork”, with advancement often dependent on timing, vacancies and personal connections rather than clear criteria.
At the same time, many experienced nurses were carrying substantial informal leadership workloads, including mentoring junior staff, supervising students and holding teams together, without dedicated time, staffing or organisational recognition.
One focus group participant told the ACN:
“Burnout is the new normal. We joke about it – but no one’s okay.”
Mid-career nurses reported being particularly squeezed between heavy clinical workloads, responsibility for supporting a junior workforce and caring responsibilities at home.
“I’m exhausted. Not because I don’t love it, but because it falls on us to support a really junior workforce,” another participant said.
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The ACN also identified restrictions on nurses working to their full scope of practice as a career and retention problem, saying they reduced opportunities to develop skills, move into advanced and alternative roles and demonstrate capability.
Nurses working below scope could become frustrated, reduce their hours or leave the profession early, the report said.
ACN chief executive Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz said retaining nurses was not simply a workforce issue.
“It directly affects health outcomes, health service stability, and the long-term sustainability of Australia’s health system,” she said.
“Nurses across Australia have told us they are proud of their profession, they want to stay, and they want to be supported to build a future within it.
“We now need to work together to develop clear, achievable career pathways and support to navigate them.”
The ACN is calling for better national data on graduate program availability and early-career transitions, stronger structured transition programs at both ends of nurses’ careers and nursing career infrastructure to be embedded in national workforce strategies.
It also wants funded professional development and protected learning time expanded, particularly for rural and remote nurses, and development opportunities that allow nurses to work to their full scope.
Later this month the ACN will launch Nursing Career Pathways, a national career navigator covering traditional and emerging nursing roles including digital health, nurse-led models of care and RN prescribing.