Treasurer Jim Chalmers is promising cash from the $900 million National Productivity Fund to jurisdictions which remove barriers to healthcare professionals working to their full capabilities.
States and territories now have extra incentive to expand scope of practice for health professionals, with treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers announcing that the federal government will contribute $60 million in funding once reforms are underway.
Dr Chalmers made the announcement following last Friday’s Council on Federal Financial Relations meeting with state and territory counterparts.
The press release did not appear to have been published on the minister’s official media page at time of writing, but The Medical Republic sighted a copy.
“Treasurers agreed to cut red tape to unlock more access to cheaper and more efficient healthcare for all Australians, especially in rural and remote communities,” the release read.
“These reforms will clear away unnecessary rules and barriers to make sure our health professionals can use their skills where and when they’re most needed.
“The Productivity Commission estimates the reforms could boost GDP by up to $1.2 billion a year, and save the budget nearly $300 million a year.”
The reforms that Dr Chalmers referred to came from the 2024 Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review final report.
The headline finding was that “virtually all health professions in the primary care sector, including general practitioners, face some restrictions or barriers to working at full scope of practice that are unrelated to their education (skills and knowledge) and competence”.
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In the media release, Dr Chalmers said one example of removing barriers to healthcare professionals would be “help[ing] registered nurses to prescribe and administer medicines across jurisdictions in line with their qualifications”.
“The Australian Government will contribute $60 million and payments will only be made once states and territories implement these reforms, with the funding coming from the $900 million National Productivity Fund,” the release said.
The Australian College of Nursing had already called on states and territories to act on scope of practice in order to unlock the funding.
“[All jurisdictions] must look specifically at the barriers that are preventing nurses from using all of their skills and expertise in healthcare delivery,” CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz said.
The college also called for more detail on how the funding commitment would work.
