NPAA - Nurses' Professional Association of Australia

27/11/2025

Queensland’s hospital system isn’t “under pressure" - it’s breaking, and nurses are carrying the weight.

More than 1,100 beds are blocked by patients who shouldn’t be in hospital at all. That’s almost $1 billion wasted every year while frontline workers are pushed beyond breaking point.

This isn’t a staffing failure. This isn’t a funding accident. This is policy failure.

NPAA President Kara Thomas has penned an article in The Spectator Australia.

Queensland's blocked beds are costing taxpayers almost $1 billion. The consequences are deadly. This is a health crisis for Australia.

25/11/2025

Tasmania, like the rest of the country, has a bed-block crisis costing more than $215,000 every single day, and nearly 100 people are stuck in hospital beds waiting for aged care or NDIS places.

And still, we keep pretending the solution will come from the top.

Look at Christchurch. They blew the doors off the old system, one funding pool, local control, teams who actually talk to each other, and nurses working at full scope.

The result? No bed block. No ramping. No endless waiting lists.

That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because frontline workers were empowered to fix the system instead of fighting it. It happened because prevention, primary care, urgent care centres, and nurse practitioner-led services were treated as the backbone, not an afterthought. Nearly 1000 nurse practitioners in one region, stepping up and keeping people out of hospital safely.

Tasmania could do the same. Queensland could. Every state could.

But only if we stop centralising every decision and start trusting communities and the nurses who hold them together to design what actually works.

A specialist doctor and the head of the nurses’ union say Tasmania should look to New Zealand where radical health reforms have ended bed block and ambulance ramping.

25/11/2025

The Grattan Institute just spelled it out: Australia is wasting billions by blocking nurses from working to the top of our scope.

Nurses aren’t a cost centre, we’re the engine. When we’re allowed to use our full skills, patients get safer care and hospitals save money. Everyone wins.

Yet nurse practitioners still hit walls. RN prescribing is barely supported. The system is holding itself back.

NPAA will keep pushing until nursing expertise is valued, not sidelined.

Here’s my question to you: What’s the one barrier that most stops you from working to your full scope?

Drop it in the comments — your voice drives this fight.

A leading think tank says Australian hospitals must make better use of their nurses’ skills if they are to rein in spiralling costs. The Grattan Institute’s Smarter Spending: Getting better care for every hospital dollar report says governments are burning through $1.2 billion a year on avoidabl...

11/11/2025

Queensland’s Premier has revealed that over 1100 patients are trapped in hospital beds — people who should be receiving care in aged care or NDIS settings, but can’t move because the system is gridlocked.

This isn’t just numbers. It’s our reality. Nurses stretched to breaking point. Patients waiting in corridors. Aged care residents left in hospital because there’s nowhere else for them to go.

The Premier’s right. Queensland’s health system is in crisis, and the funding shortfall from Canberra is part of the problem. But those living it every day already know: the system’s been at breaking point for years.

If you’re a nurse, carer, or patient feeling the impact - we want to hear from you.
Your stories make the truth impossible to ignore.

📧 Email us: hotline@redunion.com.au
💬 Or comment below — what’s happening in your ward, your town, your hospital?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been sent back to the drawing board as Premier David Crisafulli threatens a political brawl over the Commonwealth’s “cruel” hospital funding deal.

10/11/2025

Today marks 107 years since the signing of the armistice which saw the end of the First World War.

As we reflect on the incredible bravery of the Australian men and women who have fought for our country, we must renew our gratitude for their sacrifices - of which more than 100,000 have made the ultimate one.

Australia's involvement in WW1 is one of great magnitude and bloodshed. A small country just 13 years since federation, Australia answered the call to enter the Great War and more than 62,000 perished - over 1.2% of our total population. More to the point, nearly 15% of all the men that enlisted paid the ultimate price.

To understand the sheer scale of the sacrifices made, that equates to 326,400 dead as a proportion of our population today.

The courage and patriotism of all the men and women who have died for our country has left an indelible mark on our nation's history. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend, and we enjoy the freedoms we have today because of the men and women who have done so.

Let's honour their memory and commemorate their legacy. Lest we forget.

06/11/2025

When aged care breaks down, hospitals bear the cost & nurses carry the load.

The ABC’s latest investigation shows older Australians waiting months just to be assessed for care. Some die before they ever get the help they were promised. While they wait, hospital beds fill with patients who could have gone home or into a supported facility if the aged care system worked.

This isn’t “bed block.” It's a system failure.

Nurses see it daily: frail patients stranded in wards, desperate families calling aged care hotlines, colleagues stretched past breaking point. Every delay downstream lands squarely on our wards and our backs.

Until aged care is properly staffed, properly funded, and free from profit motives, hospital overcrowding will only get worse and nurses will keep being asked to do the impossible.

💬 Nurses how often do you see patients stuck in hospital because aged care support isn’t ready?

Families and insiders say the system to assess people for aged care is in crisis, with 116,000 people on the waiting list. Once approved, they join the queue to get a home care package, which stands at more than 120,000.

05/11/2025

After months of frontline staff raising the alarm about dangerous conditions at Kerrisdale Gardens, The Courier-Mail has now reported both the tragedy and the real improvements that have resulted from member advocacy.

Residents are finally safer. Staffing levels are better. Infection control and clinical resources have improved.

This turnaround happened because nurses refused to stay silent. Your courage led to action and shows what’s possible when management listens and acts on frontline feedback.

❤️ To every nurse and carer who spoke up, thank you. You’ve made a difference.

What other changes would you like to see in aged care?

👉 Read the full story:

An 85-year-old retiree suffering from dementia died after being left unsupervised by his aged care provider in the hot Queensland sun for hours.

04/11/2025

🏥 New Aged Care Reforms: Who Pays What?

Australia’s aged care system is changing again. Under the new reforms, self-funded retirees and some pensioners will now pay more towards their care, while the government reduces its contribution by billions over the next decade.

That means higher out-of-pocket costs for everyday living and independence supports like showering, meals, and medication management. The idea? To “sustain” the system and shorten waiting lists.

But there’s a deeper issue. If older Australians can’t afford the care they need at home or in residential facilities, where will they go? Hospitals.

Already at breaking point. Already facing “bed block” and delayed discharges every single day. Aged care reform can’t come at the cost of acute care. We need a system that supports ageing with dignity, not one that pushes more people through emergency doors.

💬 Do you think these new aged care fees could increase pressure on hospitals and emergency departments?
Share your thoughts below or email us: hotline@redunion.com.au

A new fee structure for aged care takes effect today. Find out what it will mean for you.

04/11/2025

🏥 Hospitals are no longer running hospitals — governments are.

When politicians, not clinicians, control hospital decisions, patient care suffers.
Across Australia, hospitals are trapped in a “command and control” system. Health staff are left to carry impossible loads while decisions are made from offices hundreds of kilometres away.

We need to flip the system back.
➡️ Clinician-led, locally autonomous hospitals that understand their community and can act fast.
➡️ Real investment in primary care to keep people healthy and out of hospitals.
➡️ Respect for the professionals who actually deliver care, not the bureaucrats who just manage spreadsheets.

Because health care isn’t a line item — it’s people.

💬 Do you think health decisions should be made by doctors and nurses or by politicians and administrators?
Tell us what’s happening in your hospital or community: hotline@redunion.com.au

A peak health body is worried Tasmania's public health system won't receive enough support in Thursday's state budget to address ballooning demand.

04/11/2025

🚨 Nurses Sound the Alarm. Again

At Albany Health Campus, nurses are warning it’s only a matter of time before tragedy strikes. Shifts cut. Beds full. Patients lined up in corridors. Staff pushed past breaking point.

This isn’t just Albany, it’s happening across Australia. When budgets are cut, it’s nurses and patients who pay the price. Every single time.

We hear you. We stand with you.
If this sounds like your hospital, your ward, your story — speak up.

📧 Tell us what’s happening where you work: hotline@redunion.com.au

💬 How are staffing cuts and “bed state black” crises affecting your workplace?
Comment below — your story matters.

A whistleblower nurse has lifted the lid on the crisis faced by the Great Southern’s largest hospital, warning it’s a ‘matter of time’ before cuts to nursing shifts and a lack of beds result in death.

30/10/2025

💰 Nurses win a 13% pay rise and $4500 bonus in SA, but is it enough?

After months of pressure, the South Australian Government has upped its offer to nurses, 13% over four years, plus three bonus payments totalling $4500.
The deal includes a $3000 regional service incentive, improved flexible work options, and a lead apron allowance for those working in high-radiation areas.

This offer comes as new nurse-to-patient ratio laws pass parliament, modelled on Victoria’s system, aimed at improving safety for both staff and patients.

Industrial Relations Minister Kyam Maher says the deal “balances fair wages with budget responsibility.”

Nurses, however, have called earlier offers “inadequate and insulting” and this latest version will now go to members for a vote.

Because at the end of the day, a pay rise means little if the conditions stay broken.

👉 Question for our community: Do you think this deal truly values the skill, stress, and sacrifice of nurses, or is it still short of what’s fair?

The state government has increased its pay offer to nurses to 13 per cent over four years with a lucrative $4500 bonus thrown in as a sweetener.