ANZSCO 2544
Registered Nurses
Queensland
June 2015
Current labour market rating
Regional Shortage
Previous labour market rating (January 2014)
No Shortage
Comments
While 71 per cent of regional vacancies were filled this year, regional employers reported low numbers
of applicants and around one third advised that no suitable applicants had applied for their vacancy. A
number of filled vacancies had been advertised repeatedly while others were filled by internal applicants
or existing employees.
Survey results
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Vacancies in this year’s survey were largely in private and public hospitals across the State, with
others in private medical centres, aged care facilities and diagnostic medical imaging services.
Employers mainly sought experienced nurses for either general nursing duties or with specialist
skills in theatre, cardiac care, renal care, mental health, aged care and general practice.
In this year’s survey, 85 per cent of all positions for registered nurses were filled within six weeks of
advertising a slight fall from the 89 per cent fill rate last year.
o Both metropolitan and regional fill rates decreased this year. Metropolitan fill rates decreased
by four points to 92 per cent while the fill rate for regional vacancies fell by seven points to 71
per cent.
Overall, there were 8.9 applicants per vacancy on average compared with 7.7 applicants per
vacancy in 2014.
o There were twice as many applicants per metropolitan vacancy (10.6) than there were for
regional vacancies (5.1).
Despite the difference between the numbers of applicants per vacancy in regional and metropolitan
areas, there was little difference in the numbers of suitable applicants per vacancy. Overall there
were 1.2 suitable applicants per vacancy across the State.
Most regional employers cited their location as a disadvantage in recruiting experienced nurses and
one third reported that no suitable applicants had applied to their vacancies.
o To overcome their recruitment difficulties, a number of regional employers reported engaging
less experienced nurses on a part-time or casual basis, engaging agency nurses, sponsoring
overseas registered nurses with specialist experience or employing suitable applicants who
were only available for short-term periods as interim measures.
o Numerous regional employers opportunistically hired registered nurses in other capacities
even though they were not suitable for the advertised vacancy.
A number of private employers advised that they had difficulty matching the wages and conditions
of the public sector, which complicated their recruitment efforts.
Labour Economics Office Queensland
Department of Employment
Unsuitable applicants
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Although 98 per cent of all applicants were qualified, around 85 per cent of applicants were
considered unsuitable by employers, often for reasons around experience.
o Many unsuitable applicants were inexperienced graduates while others were qualified nurses
who lacked specific experience in specialisations such as aged care, theatre, mental health and
cardiac care.
o Both aged care and hospital employers commented that the experience gained in these
settings were not readily transferrable so that nurses applying for positions outside their field
of experience were not considered suitable.
o Regional employers stated that new graduates were generally unsuitable as they were
required to work independently and with limited supervision.
Employers advised that some Australian trained overseas applicants were considered unsuitable
due to a lack of proficiency in English. Employers asserted that good communication skills were
critical when administering drugs or in aged care.
A number of applicants were not prepared to work the hours on offer or were not considered the
right fit for the organisation.
The majority of employers reported large numbers of overseas applicants both with and without Australian
working rights. A number of contacts advised that, of those with working rights, many did not have local
experience, some had non-transferable skills and a number of them did not have sufficient English language
skills for serious consideration.
Demand and supply trends
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An ageing population and population growth has generated demand for health professionals such
as registered nurses, with the latest statistics published by Queensland Health showing that the
number of admitted patient episodes of care in all Queensland public and Mater hospitals increased
by 12.4 per cent between 2010-11 and 2013-14. While there have been reduced public sector job
opportunities over the past couple of years due to reduced state government spending, it appears
recruitment is accelerating for registered nurses.1
o Although combining figures for both registered nurses and midwives, the latest nursing
headcount shows that, after declining by one per cent over six months to December 2013,
there were 33,698 registered nurses and midwives employed by Queensland Health by
October 2014, an increase of almost six per cent.2
o While vacancies advertised online for registered nurses fell by 28 per cent between May 2012
and May 2014, vacancies increased by almost 24 per cent over the year to May 2015.3
Entry to this profession is via a three-year bachelor degree. All registered nurses must be registered
with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to practice in Queensland.
1
Queensland Health, Selected Queensland Hospital Activity Indicators, Admitted patient episodes of care (Monthly counts),
https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/selected-hospital-activity-indicators/resource/fe733245-2a94-46ff-9f3d-b170a44a45c7,
March 2015
2
Queensland Health, Queensland Clinician Workforce Summary Statistics, Table 3: Queensland Health Nursing Summary
Headcount, December 2014
3
Department of Employment, Internet Vacancy Index Four Digit Data, http://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/VacancyReport
Labour Economics Office Queensland
Department of Employment
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The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia registered 50,556 practising registered nurses in
Queensland (excluding those with dual enrolled nursing registration) as of March 2015, an increase
of 2.7 per cent over the year.4
The latest figures from the Department of Education indicate that the numbers of students
commencing nursing degrees increased by 38 per cent between 2009 (2,770) and 2013 (3,815).
The numbers of newly graduated nurses entering the labour market increased by 39 per cent, with
2,032 in 2013 compared to 1,462 in 2009.
Information provided by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirms that the
numbers of registered nurses entering the State for work purposes has declined over the last couple
of years.
Other indicators and issues
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A number of contacts expressed concern at the lack of opportunities for graduate nurses in relation
to future supply. The Queensland Government this month announced $110.7 million dollars over
four years to support the placement of up to 4000 additional nurse and midwifery graduates across
the State. 5
o The Queensland Government will also enact nurse to patient ratios which may lead to a further
increase in the registered nursing workforce.
4
Nursing and Midwifery Board, Nurse and Midwife Registrant Data, March 2015,
http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/About/Statistics.aspx
5
Queensland Government, Queensland State Budget 2015-16, Service Delivery Statements Queensland Health,
http://www.budget.qld.gov.au/budget-papers/documents/bp5-qh-2015-16.p
Labour Economics Office Queensland
Department of Employment