The Australian College of Nursing has released its pre-Budget submission, and no words are minced.
Australia’s healthcare system is under enormous pressure. I have seen first-hand ballooning emergency department wait times and elective surgery backlogs.
At the same time, vaccination rates are falling, fuelling severe outbreaks of preventable infectious diseases.
There are critical healthcare workforce shortages, threatening universal healthcare – and a projected shortfall of 70,000 nurses by 2035 without significant action.
Today, I’m proud to launch the Australian College of Nursing’s pre-Budget submission 2026–27: Invest in Nursing: The Solution to Australia’s Healthcare Challenges.
It’s an evidence-based blueprint, with targeted investments, that would deliver measurable improvements across the health system – from vaccination coverage to elective surgery wait times.
Why nursing?
With 414,000 registered nurses, we are Australia’s largest, most trusted, and most geographically distributed health profession. Nurses are already present in every healthcare setting – hospitals, aged care, primary care, schools, remote communities, and people’s homes.
Yet outdated funding models, regulatory barriers, and systemic underutilisation prevent nurses from working to their full scope of practice.
Government reviews keep reaching the same conclusion – the evidence is consistent and clear: Australia must make smarter use of its entire health workforce. The time for action is now.
What we’re calling for
Our submission targets six priority areas where nursing investment will have the greatest impact.
First, we need to reverse declining vaccination rates.
Australia recorded nearly 503,000 influenza cases in 2025 – the highest on record – and childhood vaccination coverage has dropped below the 95% herd immunity threshold.
Nurse-led vaccination clinics with mobile and pop-up models can reach communities that GP clinics and pharmacies alone cannot.
Second, we must retain and grow the nursing workforce.
When 20-30% of early-career nurses leave within three years, we’re losing capacity at rates we can’t afford. Our submission calls for expanded transition-to-practice programs, refresher scholarships, and a National Transition to Retirement Guide to keep experienced nurses contributing.
Third, the landmark approval of designated registered nurse prescribing standards must be backed by investment – $52 million to educate 2500 RN prescribers and ensure nationally consistent implementation.
This will transform medicine access in aged care, primary care, and mental health settings where patients currently wait too long.
Fourth, we need to unlock primary care capacity through nurse-led models.
That means a baseline practice payment for nurse practitioner and RN-led clinics, MyMedicare access, and removing the funding barriers that exclude nurse-led services from the system they strengthen.
Related
Fifth, in aged care, nurse-led models can reduce avoidable hospital admissions and help address the appalling situation of older Australians becoming stuck in hospital beds.
Scholarships, dedicated funding for nurse practitioner roles, and better use of enrolled nurses within care-minute requirements will improve outcomes for older Australians.
Finally, advanced nursing roles, such as nurse anaesthetists and nurse endoscopists, can expand hospital capacity and reduce elective surgery waitlists.
The National Productivity Fund should be used to incentivise states and territories to make this happen.
The bottom line
Every one of these recommendations is grounded in evidence and aligned with the government’s own review findings. Nurses – alongside every other health professional – must be enabled to do what we’re educated, trained, and trusted to do.
The 2026–27 Budget is an opportunity to turn years of reviews into reform. Let’s not waste it.
Read the full ACN submission here.
Professor Kathryn Zeitz is the CEO of the Australian College of Nursing.