Our values

Our values

Our work as union members and nursing and midwifery professionals is driven by our values.

Our nursing and midwifery values

  • Caring: Caring is central to our identity as nurses and midwives.
  • Advocacy: We help keep our health system safe.
  • Holism: We help keep the system human.
  • Professionalism: We are accountable to the community.

Our union values

  • Fairness: We are committed to a fair society.
  • Collectivism: We are stronger when we work together.
  • Equality: We believe all people should be treated equally and have the same rights under the law.
  • Opportunity: We seek to improve the quality of life of all Australians.

Our Values

Committed to the needs and interests of working Australians

In accordance with the ACTU Congress 2009 resolution that committed unions to the needs and interests of all working Australians and their families, the QNMU also commits to the following:

Fairness, equality and opportunity in the community

  1. The QNMU believes in a democratic Australia, which values all citizens and their aspirations.
  2. The QNMU believes in the right of all citizens to employment and a decent standard of living – to a fair share of the nation’s wealth.
  3. The QNMU believes that every Australian must have access to free, quality public health care and education, regardless of their socio-economic circumstances.
  4. The QNMU believes that families and individuals must be guaranteed decent minimum living standards through the social security and taxation systems.
  5. The QNMU believes that all Australians must have access to decent and affordable housing.
  6. The QNMU believes in the right of all Australians to a rich and rewarding life outside work including a secure and dignified retirement.
  7. The QNMU respects the fact that indigenous Australians are the original owners of our land, and that reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is a vital goal.
  8. The QNMU believes in a multi-cultural Australia.
  9. The QNMU believes in a sustainable environment.
  10. The QNMU is opposed to discrimination in all forms including that based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual preference and political beliefs.
  11. The QNMU believes that all Australians must be treated equally by the law and have access to legal representation as a right.
  12. The QNMU believes that governments have a central role in ensuring fairness, equality and opportunity throughout the community.
  13. The QNMU is committed to Australia’s participation in international cooperation to promote peace, security, human rights, labour standards and prosperity through fair trading arrangements.

Security and fairness in the workplace

  1. The QNMU believes that workplaces should be safe, secure, healthy and free of harassment, intimidation, violence and discrimination.
  2. The QNMU believes that workers should have a right to a decent wage and fair working conditions.
  3. The QNMU believes that all workers have a right to secure employment and protection against unfair dismissal or unfair treatment by the employer.
  4. The QNMU believes that workers should have the right to join and be represented by a union.
  5. The QNMU believes that all employees should have the right to bargain collectively.
  6. The QNMU believes that workplace union representatives should have rights enabling them to carry out their role.
  7. The QNMU believes that unions should have the right to recruit, organise and represent workers.
  8. The QNMU believes that workers should be consulted and informed about issues affecting their employment.
  9. The QNMU believes that Australian businesses and their executives have a responsibility to engage in legal and ethical conduct and environmentally sustainable practices at all times with employees, stakeholders and the community.
  10. The QNMU believes that working parents must have access to good quality, affordable child care.
  11. The QNMU believes that working parents have a right to employment standards that enable them to manage work and family.
  12. The QNMU believes that working parents must have the time and opportunity to form and maintain relationships with their children which foster the child’s development.
  13. The QNMU believes that officers and representatives of this and other unions should conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this Statement of Australian Union Values.