ANF members are being asked to help find Indigenous ex-nurses and midwives who worked in Victorian hospitals and residential aged care facilities but have since left the profession. The Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses (CATSIN) says the word-of-mouth method of sharing information has been used successfully in the past. CATSIN is working with the Department of Health and Ageing to ensure Indigenous nurses and midwives are aware of and able to access the bonuses offered by the program.
The bonuses are part of the Federal Government's five-year $138.9 million Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce Program to support recruitment and training of up to 8750 nurses.
Nurses who have been out of the nursing workforce for 12 months or more may be eligible for cash bonuses of up to $6000 as an incentive to return to the profession in public or private hospitals and in aged care facilities. The program also provides payments of up to $1000 to employers for returning a nurse to the workforce.
