Research highlights the midwifery workforce crisis in Australia, suggesting a new workforce strategy to improve roles and training.
The midwifery workforce across Australia is facing unprecedented challenges with mounting concern for the sustainability of the professional pipeline. In response to these concerns, the Nursing Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) in partnership with the Burnet Institute was commissioned to undertake a research project to review the midwifery workforce and provide insight to guide development of a sustainable workforce strategy.1 In this article, I share my midwifery story which echoes many of the findings of the Midwifery Futures report. The findings of this review confirmed the midwifery workforce in Australia is in crisis and urgently needs a future-focused midwifery strategy. Recommendations were made to support flexible working and dynamic roles recognising the underutilised skills of midwives in the maternity sector.1 Barriers preventing midwives from working to their full scope of practice were identified. It is essential to support midwives in research, academia and both hospital and community settings to ensure a robust, agile and sustainable workforce.1
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Jennifer Green (2025) studied this question.
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