Have Your Say About Maternity Care in Australia!
A proposed change to requirements by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) will significantly impact accessibility of private midwifery care!
It takes 5 minutes to respond and your response matters!
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) is reviewing an outdated, non-evidence-based regulation that creates a barrier to private midwives providing full-scope continuity of care. We need your help to submit to their public consultation.
Takes ~5 Minutes
Quick online form with guided answers
No Referral Needed
Open public consultation, anyone can respond
Anyone Can Respond
Parents, families, midwives, health professionals, everyone!
If this change goes ahead, the impact will be immediate
-
Fewer midwives available
As of December 2026, some midwives who are currently providing private midwifery and homebirth care will no longer be able to.
-
Increased cost & reduced access for families
Fewer endorsed midwives means less access to Medicare-rebatable, affordable midwifery-led care.
-
Greater pressure on an already strained hospital system
With fewer private midwifery options, more families will be funnelled into an overburdened public system.
-
Some families left without supported care options
Where midwifery attendance becomes unavailable, the foreseeable consequence is an increase in freebirth, women birthing without any registered professional present.
This is about access, safety, and choice during one of life's most important moments. Private midwifery care is linked to better outcomes for mothers and babies, lower intervention rates, and reduced birth trauma.
What's happening & why it must change
Midwives must complete
hospital-based hours to become endorsed, gained within a 6-year period, plus completion of a prescribing course.
There is no evidence that this requirement makes care safer. No other comparable country has a requirement like this.
Without change, the consequences are severe
- Insurance exemptions for homebirth midwives will be removed
- Only endorsed midwives will be able to practise privately and attend homebirths
- Many midwives will be unable to continue providing care, particularly those who work part-time while raising families
- The number of available midwives will shrink further, some families may feel forced into freebirth
Why this needs to change
The arguments for removing the 5,000-hour requirement are grounded in evidence and clinical practice reality.
Not Evidence-Based
The 5,000-hour threshold is arbitrary with no published evidence that it predicts or produces safer practice. Midwifery education already provides ~4,800 hours of training.
No International Precedent
Midwives in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand can provide full-scope care from graduation. Australia is the outlier.
Better Outcomes
Private midwifery achieves better outcomes for mothers and babies than any other model of care, and is protective against birth trauma (Leinweber et al., 2025).
Gender Inequity
97–98% of midwives are women. Many can't meet the threshold within 6 years due to parental leave and caring responsibilities. This regulation penalises them for being parents.
Rural & Remote Access
Endorsed midwives can access Medicare rebates. Removing this barrier directly increases affordable, accessible care, especially where it's needed most.
Safety Is Protected
Midwives are highly trained in their undergraduate degree. Privately practising midwives follow strict guidelines, legislation, and complete additional prescribing education.
If this continues:
This is not theoretical. This affects real families making real decisions right now.
Continuity-of-care becomes harder to access
Fewer midwives will be able to offer the gold-standard model that evidence shows delivers the best outcomes.
Reduced birth care options and higher costs
Without endorsed midwives accessing Medicare, private midwifery becomes available only to those who can pay out of pocket.
Rural and remote communities hit hardest
Families in regional areas already have the fewest options. This regulation makes it worse.
Increased risk of unsupported freebirth
When midwifery attendance is unavailable or unaffordable, more women will birth without any registered professional present.
This is not theoretical. This affects real families making real decisions right now.
You can directly influence this decision
The NMBA is currently accepting public submissions. Here's how to make yours count.
Visit the NMBA Consultation Page
Go to the NMBA website and select "Review of the Registration Standard: Endorsement for Scheduled Medicines for Midwives" (the second consultation listed).
Answer 8 Short Questions
Use our guided responses below to help you answer each question with confidence. Most only need a YES or NO plus a short comment.
Submit Your Response
Hit submit before 5 June 2026. Then share this page with a friend. Every submission counts!
Guided Responses
Recommended answers to help you complete the NMBA submission. Click each question to see suggested responses you can use or adapt in your own words.
Is the updated content of the proposed revised Registration standard helpful, clear and relevant?
The revised standard is clearly written, removes an unsupported threshold, and better reflects contemporary midwifery practice.
The proposed changes address a structural barrier that has no evidence base and is inconsistent with international regulatory frameworks for midwives. The revised standard is relevant to the current workforce context, particularly given the impending removal of the PII exemption for homebirth midwives in December 2026.
Do you support removal of the 5,000-hour clinical hours requirement?
This is the most important question in the form. There is no published evidence that 5,000 hours makes care safer.
By the time a midwife is registered, they have completed approximately 4,800 hours of integrated clinical and theoretical training. To apply for endorsement, midwives must then complete an additional postgraduate diploma in prescribing. It is this qualification that provides the specific skills needed, not the accumulation of post-registration hours.
Internationally, no comparable country requires midwives to accumulate postgraduate clinical hours to provide full-scope care. Midwives in the UK, Netherlands, and New Zealand can practise in this capacity from graduation.
Do you support removal of the context of practice requirement?
Midwives are qualified across all stages of care: antenatal, birth and postnatal. They are registered to provide care across these contexts. Requiring hours to be accumulated in a specific context is overly prescriptive and does not reflect the reality of contemporary midwifery practice.
Do you support a 12-month window to apply after completing the prescribing qualification?
This is a reasonable timeframe that keeps skills current. A 12-month window is a proportionate and sensible requirement for ensuring currency of prescribing knowledge.
Would the proposed changes cause negative impacts on people accessing healthcare?
More endorsed midwives means better access and safer care for families. The proposed updates will increase the number of endorsed midwives available, improving access to Medicare-rebatable, midwife-led continuity of care, particularly for families in rural, remote and regional areas.
Would the changes cause negative impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples?
Removing this barrier improves access to midwifery care for all Australians, particularly in remote and regional communities where a large proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live. It is the maintenance of the current barriers, not their removal, that is more likely to result in adverse effects.
Would the changes cause negative impacts on currently endorsed midwives?
Already endorsed midwives are not affected by this change. Their endorsement and practice rights remain unchanged. A larger endorsed workforce strengthens the profession, supports better availability of second midwives for homebirth, and builds a more sustainable private midwifery sector.
Please provide any other feedback (open text box)
This is your chance to share your own story in your own words. You could mention:
• What it was like trying to find a midwife for your birth
• How limited your choices were, especially if you live regionally or rurally
• Whether you or someone you know felt pressured to consider birthing without professional support (e.g. freebirth)
• Why having a trusted, known midwife matters to you and your family
• Any concerns you have about the December 2026 insurance changes and what that means for homebirth availability
Your personal experience is powerful. The NMBA needs to hear the real-world impact of this standard.
Want to do more?
Your submission is vital, but there are more ways to amplify your voice.
Write to Your Local MP & Health Minister
Let your elected representatives know this matters to their constituents. A pre-written email is ready for you. Just add your name and send.
Open Pre-Written EmailShare This With a Friend
Every voice matters. Send this page to someone who cares about their maternity care options. It only takes a moment.
Download Our Guides
Detailed information to support your submission.
This information is based on current NMBA consultation materials and the lived experiences of midwives and families across Australia.
Every submission counts.
This decision will shape the future of maternity care in Australia. Take 5 minutes and make your voice heard.
Submissions close 5 June 2026, don't wait!