The ANMF seeks urgent TIC Hearing as Department ignores Status Quo
Thursday 26 February 2026
WHAT: Media Call
WHERE: ANMF Office, 54 Tamar Street, Launceston
WHEN: TODAY 9:30AM
WHO: ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary Emily Shepherd
The ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) has made an emergency application to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission to seek a status quo direction with respect to the Transfer of Care Protocol, which is due to head to arbitration in March 2026.
“In early December when the ANMF, supported by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), took this dispute to the TIC, the Department unequivocally gave its commitment to status quo, or leaving the Transfer of Care at 60 Minutes until the 45-minute protocol dispute was resolved,” ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary Emily Shepherd said.
“Despite this commitment, the Department attempted to implement a new role titled the IW shift within the Royal Hobart Hospital Emergency Department.
“This IW shift – intended to operate when the hospital is at critical operational levels to rapidly offload patients from Ambulance Tasmania – directly interferes with the live, genuine dispute currently before the TIC regarding the ToC Protocol and the unacceptable transfer of workload and clinical risk to nurses when Executive enforces a 45‑minute offload requirement.
“This is literally a 45-minute transfer of care protocol in another name and shows complete disrespect to the nurses and midwives who have raised serious concerns with this proposed 45-minute offload both to their colleagues and importantly, to patients.
“It also illustrates the moral compass of a Department which will support a status quo position in the TIC during an industrial dispute but will then underhandedly implement the same process under a different name.”
The ANMF will seek a status quo order from the TIC during this urgent hearing, despite the Nurses and Midwives Award stating that the Department and THS will adhere to the status quo while a dispute is being resolved.
“The ANMF has repeatedly proposed solutions to improve access and flow both to the Department and the Government including medi-hotels, development of a sub-acute facility and/or a publicly-owned and led aged care facility, such as Rosary Gardens, which the Government has just purchased.
“Yet rather than do the work to improve access and flow, this Government and Department of Health continue to force unreasonable and unsafe workloads onto nurses and midwives across hospitals to fix one symptom of the broader issues of access and flow.”
The ANMF has advised members of the urgent application and will advise members when the urgent hearing is to take place once a date and time is set by the TIC.
-End-
Media contact:
Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary
Email: Emily.Shepherd@anmftas.org.au