Tasmania Launches Statewide Midwifery Strategy

The "Midwifery Matters" strategy outlines 20 actions across three main themes: boosting workforce capacity, enhancing workforce capability, and improving connection with women and families. A key initiative is the reintroduction of the Graduate Diploma of Midwifery at the University of Tasmania, aimed at expanding local education pathways. The plan emphasizes expanding midwifery-led models of care to ensure all women have access to continuity of care, regardless of their location. This strategy is a response to community feedback and aligns with national and global best practices in maternal healthcare. It was developed after a public consultation period for the 2025-2030 plan, which sought to address concerns raised by the Tasmanian community and create a more responsive and sustainable maternity system. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has expressed broad support for the strategy's focus on woman-centered care and continuity models. The push for reform comes as data shows a complex workforce landscape. While Tasmania has more nurses and midwives per capita than the national average, the North West region of the state experiences lower numbers. Between 2014 and 2019, the full-time equivalent (FTE) for midwifery registrants in Tasmania saw a 9% decline, even as the overall nursing and midwifery workforce grew. A central component of the new strategy is the expansion of midwifery-led continuity of care, a model where a single midwife or a small team provides care throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. Research shows these models reduce medical interventions and preterm births, increase satisfaction for both mothers and midwives, and can be more cost-effective. Despite these benefits, it's estimated that only 10-15% of women in Australia currently have access to this type of care. The strategy also supports midwives working to their full scope of practice and increasing birthing options, including publicly funded homebirths. Currently, Tasmania is the only Australian state without a publicly funded homebirth program. In 2021, 0.9% of births in Tasmania occurred at home, one of the highest rates in the country, indicating a clear demand for this option.