Australian College of Nursing

02/09/2026

The Institute of Leadership offers innovative programs designed to develop leadership skills, foster professional growth, and drive positive change in the nursing profession.

Find a leadership program for you and start your journey today. Head to our website to explore upcoming courses. https://iol.acn.edu.au/

01/09/2026

Nearly 800 nurses across Australia told us the same thing: they’re proud of this profession and they want to stay. What they’re struggling with is building a career they own.

Our new report, Nursing Pathways: Making career paths clearer, found nurses describing career progression as “guesswork”. They also reported that while mentoring and supervision are responsibilities set out in the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Standards for Practice, more support is needed to develop those leadership skills.

Nursing Pathways complements reforms already under way, including the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, turning policy direction into guidance nurses can use now.

Among the recommendations: embed wellbeing as a core component of career development.

Find the Nursing Pathways report here:
https://ow.ly/xj2N50ZHEET

01/09/2026

A GP can see a patient living with a disability, provide clinical care and bill Medicare. If that same patient walks into a nurse-led clinic, the cost comes out of their NDIS plan instead.

ACN Fellow Melissa Freeman FACN runs a nurse-led clinic in Port Macquarie that delivered 23,193 episodes of care last year: wound care, catheter care, medication and chronic disease management. Much of it for people whose only other option may be an emergency department. Eighty-two per cent of her clinic’s NDIS billing draws on Core Supports, funding meant for support workers, therapy and equipment.

Writing in The Australian, Melissa argues funding should follow the care a patient needs, not the profession delivering it.

Her piece can be found here (paywalled): https://www.theaustralian.com.au/health/caring/medicare-flaw-locks-out-nurses-drains-ndis-for-basic-healthcare/news-story/96c87f83d8cc3deab3acb819e8a56d1f

01/09/2026

This September, ACN’s Regions and Faculties are hosting a dynamic mix of events.

Feeling inspired by the content? Join ACN to become a Region or Faculty member and help drive conversations, contribute to advocacy, and make an impact on local and specialty nursing issues across Australia.

Join the ACN community: acn.edu.au/membership
View all upcoming events: acn.edu.au/event-calendar

31/08/2026

Applications for the 2027 Emerging Nurse Leader Program are closing soon.

Gain the confidence, connections and leadership skills to accelerate your nursing career through mentoring, professional development and exclusive networking opportunities.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of the next cohort. Apply today.
https://iol.acn.edu.au/leadership-programs/emerging-nurse-leader-program

26/08/2026

Join us for the Nurse Manager Leadership Program from 26 to 30 October 2026, in Melbourne.

Transform your career with practical skills in leadership, people management, resource management, and operational excellence, delivered by experienced senior nurse leaders.

Learn more and enrol now: iol.acn.edu.au/leadership-programs/nurse-manager-leadership-program

25/08/2026

The new National Health and Medical Research Strategy sets ambitious targets for translation and commercialisation, and it names clinical research nurses as critical to reaching them. ACN welcomes that landmark recognition of the research workforce.

Now we need action. Many CRNs are on short-term contracts, training varies from site to site, and there's no clear career progression. The UK and US have both invested in their research nurses over the past decade, and their trial capacity shows it.

We’re calling for national leadership and governance for research delivery roles, and formal career structures with funding behind them.

Our Clinical Research Nurse Faculty is keen to work with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and others across the sector to strengthen this workforce.

Read more: https://ow.ly/in6q50ZF0LW

24/08/2026

The official after movie is here. We captured some of the moments that made NNF 2026 so special. Watch and relive the moments here:

The official National Nursing Forum (NNF) 2026 after movie is here....

21/08/2026

The ACN Foundation is offering two scholarships, each valued at $5,000, to support nurses to participate in the Journey of Vivian Bullwinkel in Indonesia from 6–19 February 2027.

🌏 Applications are now open for The Journey of Vivian Bullwinkel Study Tour Scholarship 2027 – South East Asia.

The ACN Foundation is offering two scholarships, each valued at $5,000, to support nurses to participate in the Journey of Vivian Bullwinkel in Indonesia from 6–19 February 2027.

Commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Bangka Island massacre, this significant journey will honour Vivian Bullwinkel and the Australian Army nurses who served with extraordinary courage and sacrifice during the Second World War.

Participants will visit sites of historical and cultural significance, deepen their understanding of the nurses’ experiences and reflect on the enduring values of leadership, service, courage and remembrance.

This tour is operated by Jon Baines Tours.

To be eligible, applicants must:

🔹 Be a current ACN Fellow or Member and have held membership for the past three consecutive years
🔹 Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
🔹 Be available to undertake the tour from 6–19 February 2027

Applications close 11:59pm AEST, Sunday 13 September 2026.

Learn more and apply: https://buff.ly/DdySDPD

18/08/2026