ANMF supports Wellington Clinic members in stop work action

29 September, 2026

ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary, Emily Shepherd said members have endorsed industrial action in response to ongoing concerns about staffing levels, workload and the growing amount of administrative work being undertaken by nursing staff.

ANMF members have commenced a range of work bans, including ceasing a number of routine administrative and appointment-related tasks that do not present an immediate patient safety risk.

Members will also undertake a one-hour stop work from 2-3pm on Tuesday, September 29.

The ANMF says the action follows ongoing concerns that the nursing establishment at Level 10 does not adequately reflect the workload required to safely support the number, complexity and specialty mix of outpatient clinics operating from the service.

“Our members have been able to clearly articulate that staffing has not kept pace with workloads and increasing clinics and presentations,” Ms Shepherd said.

“ANMF members report that there are currently 14 staff working across the Level 10 clinics, ranging from 0.42 FTE to 1.0 FTE, providing a combined 9 FTE.

“Of those 14 staff currently working across the clinics, the Department had initially intended not to extend the contracts of three nurses.

“Correspondence subsequently received by the ANMF confirms that these three nurses are now being offered only three-month extensions.”

Ms Shepherd said the ANMF is concerned that three-month extensions do not provide the workforce stability required to ensure the clinics can remain operational without placing additional unsustainable workload on the remaining nurses.

“Nor do short-term extensions provide secure employment for nurses who have been working tirelessly in an already overburdened service.

“These nurses have worked tirelessly to keep the Level 10 clinics functioning despite an already significant workload.

“Offering only three-month extensions does not provide the certainty these nurses deserve, nor does it provide the stability the service needs. If these nurses are not retained, the additional workload will simply fall onto an already stretched nursing workforce.”

Ms Shepherd said the ANMF is raising members’ calls for permanency for six employees currently working in the clinics because retaining experienced nurses is an important part of maintaining a safe and sustainable service.

“In February 2026, there were as many as 22 staff working across the service, providing just over 14 FTE. Despite the reduction in the number of staff and FTE, members report that the workload has remained largely unchanged.

“As a result, nurses say they have increasingly been required to absorb the additional workload, including working unpaid overtime to complete work that cannot be accommodated during rostered hours.

“The nurses working in Level 10 are telling us very clearly that the current staffing does not match the work that needs to be done.

“Nurses are working beyond their rostered hours to try to keep up with the workload, and that is not a sustainable way to operate a specialist outpatient service. The answer cannot continue to be asking the existing nursing workforce to do more with less.”

The ANMF is also concerned about the impact of staffing levels on patient access and safety, with approximately 5400 patients currently on the Level 10 waitlist.

Members report that inadequate staffing can make it increasingly difficult to safely manage urgent Category 1 patients alongside overbooked clinics and other competing workload demands.

The ANMF says the pressures are contributing to issues including:

• difficulty managing urgent Category 1 patients;
• overbooked clinics;
• late finishes and work extending beyond rostered hours;
• reduced capacity for clinic preparation;
• delays in clinical follow-up; and
• reduced capacity for nurses to respond to deterioration or unexpected increases in workload.

“Our members are not raising these concerns because they don’t want to do the work,” Ms Shepherd said.

“They are raising them because they are not superhuman and because they are concerned about the amount of work being placed on the existing workforce and the impact that has on their ability to safely provide the service patients require.

“With around 5400 patients currently waiting, it is critical that staffing is properly considered alongside the workload and demand on these clinics to not only provide a safe working environment for members, but importantly to ensure that ill Tasmanians whose life may depend on a timely clinic appointment can be seen in time.”

The ANMF says outpatient activity and the complexity of work undertaken by Level 10 have increased, without a corresponding review of the nursing workforce required to meet that demand.

Ms Shepherd said members are seeking a proper workforce modelling process to determine the staffing required to safely and sustainably meet the workload of the service.

“The ANMF is seeking:

• six employees currently working within Level 10 Wellington Clinics to be offered permanency;
• immediate recruitment of 1.0 FTE Lead Gastroenterology Nurse; and
• maintenance of the current staffing levels as the status quo, in addition to the 1.0 FTE Lead Gastroenterology Nurse, while workforce modelling is undertaken in consultation with ANMF members and relevant unions to establish appropriate staffing levels that match the workload and service requirements.

“We need a proper assessment of the workforce required to deliver the workload, rather than continuing to rely on nurses to absorb the gap.

“Maintaining the current staffing while that modelling is undertaken is a minimum safeguard against the situation getting worse while the appropriate workforce is determined.

“Members want to be part of developing a sustainable staffing model that reflects the actual workload, complexity and patient needs of Level 10.”

Ms Shepherd said ANMF members have also endorsed commencing a formal workload grievance to address their concerns regarding staffing and workload.

“The ANMF will progress the grievance in accordance with the applicable industrial requirements. The industrial action is about ensuring these concerns are properly addressed.

“ANMF members want to continue providing safe, timely care to patients, but they need the staffing and resources to do that.

“The Department now has an opportunity to work with nurses and the ANMF to properly assess the workload and establish a staffing model that is safe and sustainable.”