Nursing and midwifery workforce

This report from the AIHW, Nursing and midwifery workforce 2011,  reported that in that year, the total number of nurses and midwives registered in Australia was 326,669, a 6.8% increase since 2007 (305,834).  Overall, nursing and midwifery supply decreased by 1.3% between 2007 and 2011, mainly as a result of a 7.4% decrease in the number of employed enrolled nurses and a 1.6% decrease in the average hours worked by all nurses and midwives over this period.

Nursing and midwifery continued to be a female-dominated profession, with women comprising 90.1% of employed nurses and midwives in 2011, and the average age of this workforce increased between 2007 and 2011 from 43.7 to 44.5 years. The proportion of nurses and midwives aged 50 or older increased from 33.0% to 38.6%.  Almost two thirds of employed nurses worked in hospitals.