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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation

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ANMF
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
Founded1924
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria
Location
Members312,243 (as at 31 December 2022)[1]
Key people
Annie Butler, secretary
AffiliationsACTU
Websitewww.anmf.org.au

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is the largest union in Australia, with 274,956 members in 2018.[2] The union is run by nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing to advance the industrial, political and professional interests of its members.

It is a federated union, with branches in each state and territory in Australia.

History

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There is a history of nursing organisations in Australia. For instance the Victorian Trained Nurses’ Association was founded in 1901 when nurses worked 52 hours per week and no qualifications were required.[3] The Federation of state organisations was founded in 1924 (then known as the Australian Nursing Federation[3]) and the first secretary was Evelyn Paget Evans who was also the secretary of the Australasian Trained Nurses Association and the General secretary of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (which was then called the Australian Massage Association} who also managed the Australasian Nurses' Journal. Evans believed in long hours for nurses and strikes were outlawed.[4]

In 1984 Barbara Carson, who was the branch manager in Victoria, led a successful campaign to remove a clause in the Victoria branch rules that prohibited strikes. In the following year she led a successful five-day strike against nurses being required to do non-nursing duties. Carson's successor Irene Bolger led another longer strike in 1986.[5] In October 1986, 5,000 nurses voted at a group meeting to go on an indefinate strike. The strike lasted 50 days and resulted in an increased offer from the state of Victoria.[6]

Leadership

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All of the Federal Executive of the ANMF are qualified nurses and/or midwives.

ANMF members are employed in a wide range of enterprises in urban, rural and remote locations in both in the public and the private sectors, including hospitals, health and community services, schools, universities, aged care, GP clinics, schools, the armed forces, statutory authorities, local government, offshore territories and industry.

Campaigns

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The ANMF runs campaigns for all members throughout Australia, such as its ongoing campaign to legally mandate staffing ratios for aged care.[7][8]

The ANMF has a range of national policies, guidelines, and position statements on nursing, health, and social justice issues for the guidance of members in their practice and at their workplaces.

Federal structure

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The ANMF is federally registered.[9] Most branches also have a state-registered union, operating as the union in the state industrial relations system. The NSW branch operates as the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association;[10] the Queensland branch operates as the Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union.[11]

International representation

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The ANMF represents Australian nursing internationally through links with other national and international nursing organisations, professional associations and the International Labour Organisations. The ANMF is a member of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation[12] and the South Pacific Nurses Forum[13] and is affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions,[14] International Centre for Trade Union Rights, and APHEDA, also known as Union Aid Abroad, the overseas aid agency of the Australian trade union movement.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Membership size of registered organisations – 2023" (PDF). Fair Work Commission. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  2. ^ "ANMF ANNUAL REPORT 2018 – 2019" (PDF). Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Our history | ANMF Vic Branch". www.anmfvic.asn.au. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  4. ^ Godden, Judith; Radi, Heather, "Evelyn Paget Evans (1881–1960)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 27 September 2023
  5. ^ Melbourne, The University of. "Carson, Barbara - Woman - The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  6. ^ Australian Women's Archives Project, Christina Cregan. "A 'Blueprint' for Union Organising: Multiplying the membership in the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) 1989-2012 - Irene Bolger". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  7. ^ Cheu, Sandy (28 April 2021). "ANMF calls for better aged care staffing". Australian Ageing Agenda. Glebe, New South Wales, Australia: The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. The 'It's Not Too Much' campaign ... is calling on the government to use next month's budget to: mandate staffing ratios in aged care homes[...]
  8. ^ Clun, Rachel (4 May 2021). "Aged care sector concerned government won't fund minimum staff levels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Nine Publishing. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. ANMF federal secretary Annie Butler said a sufficient workforce was one of the main factors impacting the quality and safety of aged care.
  9. ^ "Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)". FWC Main Site. Fair Work Commission. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ "About the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation New South Wales branch". NSW Nurses & Midwives' Association. Glebe, New South Wales, Australia. 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is the counterpart federal union of the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association (the Association).
  11. ^ "About us". Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union. West End, Queensland, Australia. 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. The QNMU is a state-registered union and a branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), [...]
  12. ^ "Diaspora and links". Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation. London, United Kingdom. 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Contacts". South Pacific Nurses Forum. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2021. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)". Australian Unions. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Australian Council of Trade Unions. n.d. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  15. ^ "APHEDA people: Meet Lori-Anne Sharp (ANMF)". Union Aid Abroad — APHEDA. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 29 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
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