Midwives’ responses to the changed registration environment in Australia: A case study

This thesis is the result of doctoral research that investigated midwives’ responses to the changed regulation conditions after the introduction of a single national register for health practitioners in Australia in 2010. The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act (2009) legislated for universal statutory registration under one national agency, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA). The move focused on national uniformity of registration standards across health practitioners and ensuring public safety through the development of a flexible, responsive and sustainable Australian health workforce that is suitably trained and qualified (AHPRA, 2010). This research is concerned with how the members of one national board, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), made meaning out of the national registration renewal standards. National registration created a number of new situations for midwifery practitioners that presented potential challenges and opportunities that need examination. A separate register for midwives meant that for some midwives this was the first opportunity to register as a midwife, without the need to also be registered as a nurse. Previous voluntary arrangements for registration renewal in some jurisdiction were made statutory at national level for all practitioners – namely, continuing professional development, and proof of competence in the form of a declaration of recency of practice, and insurance cover. Also, a new annotation on the midwifery register presented experienced midwives with the equivalent of three years, full-time practice across the full range of maternity services, the option of gaining eligibility status.Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2016