The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has collaborated with Deakin University to develop the midwife standards for practice in Australia. As part of the project, the current national competency standards for the midwife (2006) will be reviewed as it may not compatible with the continuous development of the role and scope of practice for midwifery, the model of education and training, and the regulatory framework.

Patrice Hickey, a midwife and a member of the Expert Advisory Group (EAG), said that the Midwife standards of practice are important from the practitioner’s perspective, the woman’s perspective and wider profession’s perspective.

“The Midwife standards for practice are crucial for everyday midwifery practice and important for the public, with a lot of diverse uses. They might be used by lawyers in court, or to develop education curricula, or by a small unit looking to set up a practice,” says Ms Hickey.

The draft standards are now available and open for consultation. The NMBA encourages all midwives and other stakeholders to have their say. Feedback is welcomed via online survey or in a Word document submitted to m.heartfield@deakin.edu.au marked ‘Public consultation – Midwife standards for practice’.

Submissions will be published on the NMBA website to encourage discussion and inform the community and stakeholders, except for submissions that contain offensive or defamatory comments or which are outside the scope of the consultation. Before publication, the NMBA may remove personally-identifying information from submissions, including contact details. The NMBA also accepts submissions made in confidence.

The feedback on the draft Midwife standards for practice can be provided on the NMBA consultation page. The submissions close on 25 August 2017.

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