Free university education and specialised training for thousands of nurses and midwives are being provided by the Andrews Labor Government as part of their support for Victoria’s healthcare system.

According to the announcement made by the Victorian government, more than 10,000 graduates of nursing and midwifery programmes will have their whole HECS debt cancelled. All the new domestic students who enrol in undergraduate nursing and midwifery programmes in 2023 and 2024 would be eligible to receive up to $16,500 as part of the initiative that has a budget of $270 million.

As part of a massive recruitment and training initiative, over than 17,000 nurses and midwives will be hired and given educational opportunities.

As a direct consequence of this, the health system will receive a boost, and an army of domestic health professionals will be created to provide care for Victorians.

Students will receive a total of $9,000 over the course of their three years of education, with the remaining balance of $7,500 due after working in Victorian public health services for a minimum period of two years.

Mr. Andrews stated – “As hospitals all around the state were groaning under the weight of the most recent COVID-19 wave, the government has been working on the package for months.”

More than 10,000 students will get financial aid for their undergraduate nursing or midwifery education, and thousands more will be eligible for scholarships for their postgraduate studies in critical care, cancer care, paediatrics, nurse practitioner specialities and many more.

A grant of up to $16,500 will be given to all new domestic students who enrol in a professional-entry nursing or midwifery programme in 2023 or 2024 to help with course fees.

An enhanced postgraduate midwifery incentive programme, which will offer scholarships to cover course expenses and salary support for 150 current nurses to continue working while they complete their specialised studies in midwifery, will increase the number of midwives in the nursing profession in health care sector.

More than 20,000 nurses and midwives are now supported by the programme and the $12 billion Pandemic Repair Plan, which includes funding 13,000 nursing and midwifery employment and scholarships as well as the upskilling of 8,500 nurses.

Other Benefits Include:

• Scholarship is proposed for enrolled nurses who wish to become registered nurses of $11,000 which will cover the course fee
• In both acute and community sector scholarships of $12,000 is put forward for 100 new nurse practitioners
• $10,000 scholarships to study intensive care, emergency, paediatrics, and cancer care for postgraduate nurses
• In addition, Over than $20 million is given to assist a rising number of college graduates and postgraduates in making the transition to careers in the healthcare industry

The number of nurses in the public system has increased by more than 26% during the last eight years, or by 9,400, to more over 45,000 nurses. Since 2014, the Labor Government has presided over a net increase of almost 22,000 healthcare employees in the system, a rise of 27.6%.

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