Nursing

Nursing and midwifery workforce Australia 2013

296,029 nurses and midwives were employed in Australia. Over all, 10.4% of them were male.[1]
Almost 2 in 5 of them were aged 50 or older.[2]
9 in 10 employed nurses and midwives worked in a clinical role.[3]
23,458 midwives were employed in Australia.[4]

In 2012, the total number of nurses and midwives registered in Australia was 334,078, a 6.8% (312,828) increase since 2008.
There were 35,632 midwives registered and 30,792 employed, almost all of whom were also registered nurses.
Between 2008 and 2012, the number of nurses and midwives employed in nursing or midwifery increased by 7.5% from 269,909 to 290,144.
Of these people employed in nursing and midwifery, 238,520 were registered nurses (including midwives) and 51,624 were enrolled nurses.
Overall, the nursing and midwifery workforce increased by 0.5% between 2008 and 2012, from 1,117.8 to 1,123.6 full-time equivalent nurses and midwives per 100,000 population.
Nursing and midwifery supply across remoteness areas ranged from 1,071.3 full-time equivalent nurses and midwives per 100,000 population in Outer regional areas to 1,302.8 in Very remote areas.

Nursing and midwifery continued to be a female-dominated profession, with women comprising 89.8% of employed nurses and midwives in 2012 (slightly down from 90.5% in 2008).
The average age of the nursing and midwifery workforce increased slightly between 2008 and 2012, from 44.1 to 44.6 years.
The proportion of employed nurses and midwives aged 50 or older increased from 35.1% to 39.1% over this period.

The average weekly hours worked by employed nurses and midwives remained the same between 2008 and 2012, at 33.4 hours.
Of all employed clinical nurses and midwives, almost two-thirds (62.6%) worked in hospitals.
The principal area of nursing and midwifery with the largest number of workers in 2012 was aged care (41,300).
There were almost twice as many registered nurses working in the public sector compared to the private sector.
Nurses employed in the public sector worked more hours on average than those in the private sector.

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