Have your say on the proposed guidelines for privately practising nurses

01 Mar 2024

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) is consulting on proposed Guidelines for privately practising nurses (the guidelines).

The NMBA regulates the professions of nursing and midwifery in Australia by developing registration standards, professional codes, guidelines and standards for practice to protect the public and establish the requirements for professional and safe practice. These documents form the professional practice framework (PPF) to support both enrolled nurses and registered nurses who work as privately practising nurses (PPNs) to practise safely in Australia.

The guidelines will complement the PPF and support PPNs to understand their regulatory obligations and expectations when providing private services. They will also provide information that is current and reflective of the changing environment to meet the health needs of the community for nurses working privately outside of a health service setting.

The introduction of the guidelines for privately practising nurses is a new initiative to outline the regulatory requirements within which privately practising nurses must practise, to ensure ongoing competence and safety.

Based on regulatory evidence and current practice expectations, the NMBA is proposing the guidelines include information on:

• who must comply with the requirements
• description of a PPN
• the NMBA’s professional practice framework (PPF)
• regulatory obligations of PPNs
• clinical governance, patient safety and quality improvement
• corporate governance
• the contexts of practice to reflect contemporary models of PPN practice, and
• relevant resources.

More information on the proposed endorsement and guidelines and how you can submit a response can be found on the NMBA’s current consultations webpage. The public consultation will close Friday 12 April 2024.