We did it! Midwifery ratios will be legislated in Queensland!
After years of campaigning to have babies counted, the Palaszczuk Government has committed to legislating minimum midwife-to-patient ratios!
Once legislated and fully implemented, midwifery ratios will apply in public sector postnatal maternity wards at Queensland’s major hospitals, with a minimum ratio of
one midwife to every six patients, including babies (1:6).
Most importantly, when ratios are introduced,
all babies will finally be counted in a midwife’s workload! This means Queensland will become the only Australian state or territory that counts and includes both mothers and babies in midwifery ratios.
The QNMU is awaiting further details from the Queensland Government on exact timeframes and how ratios will be rolled out across the state.
Read our full media release here.
More QNMU midwifery wins - homebirth, funding and a Queensland Chief Midwife
The QNMU has also secured other wins for midwives in recent months, including
publicly funded homebirth for low-risk pregnancies, which will begin in mid-2024 on the Sunshine Coast with Qld Health midwives employed under a Midwifery Group Practice Model at Sunshine Coast University Hospital. The outcomes will guide the state-wide roll out.
Right now, Queensland and Tasmania remain the only states in Australia to not offer publicly funded homebirth. These services in Queensland will allow skilled midwives to provide maternity services for women where and when they are required based on a woman’s choice.
Read more about this significant announcement here.
And after intense campaigning by Queensland midwives, nurses and allies, the Queensland Government has committed to $16 million for regional, remote and rural Midwifery Group Practices, as well as made a history-making announcement that Queensland is set to be the first state ever to have a Chief Midwife!
Significant commitments like these don’t happen on their own. They happen because QNMU members work collectively, in union, to escalate their issues. First to their line management, then to the people of Queensland and their elected representatives.
Whether you helped gather important evidence through our multiple audits, signed a petition, rallied outside Parliament House, or spoke with your local MP, congratulations on the role you played. Congratulations for defending and advancing the important role that midwives play in our health system and for insisting on the best care for new mums and, of course, their babies.