Council news

Thinking and acting strategically at the federal level

Published: 26 October 2011

In August this year, I had the great privilege of representing you at the Australian Nursing Federation(ANF) Federal Council Meeting in Melbourne.

The Federal Council is the main governing and policy-making body of the ANF and meets at least once each year.

Federal Council comprises the Federal Secretary (Lee Thomas) and Assistant Federal Secretary (Yvonne Chaperon), the Federal President (Coral Levett) and Federal Vice-President (Paul Nieuwenhoven), and the Secretaries and Presidents of the State Branches of the Australian Nursing Federation.

Our Branch is called the Queensland Nurses’ Union, however other states usually include "ANF" in their title.

Established in 1924, the ANF is the national union for nurses and midwives, including students.

The ANF represents the industrial and professional interests of over 200,000 nurses and midwives across the nation by co-ordinating some of the activities of each state and territory branch through a federal office.

It was the first time I have attended a Federal Council Meeting, and I learned a lot through discussions on topics including aged care, Australia’s future nursing and midwifery workforce, social justice, national health reform, indigenous health and registration and licensing issues.

I found it interesting that what sometimes seem like local issues for nurses and midwives are actually being experienced all over Australia.

To be able to discuss these matters, share experiences and work towards a plan of action at a federal level is a great opportunity and an extremely rewarding experience.

Later in October this year will be the Biennial ANF Delegates Conference – the key opportunity for state branches to establish the priorities of the ANF over the next two years.

It will be presided over by the Federal Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, the President and the Vice-President in a similar structure to the QNU’s Annual Conference of delegates at the state level.

At the conference, the QNU Executive and some of the members of Council will represent your interests and speak on your behalf.

I hope that this has given you a glimpse into the workings of the ANF and the very important democratic structures which underpin our union and enable all nurses and midwives to influence our direction.

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