The National Publicly-funded Homebirth Consortium is a network of the publicly-funded homebirth models of care in Australia.
The aims of the Consortium are to:
- Establish a network of the publicly-funded homebirth models of care in Australia
- Work collaboratively to support midwives and help sustain these models
- Act as a resource for managers, policy makers and researchers, as well as new models being developed around the country
Deborah Fox is the national coordinator working through Midwifery, Child and Family Health at UTS.
Photo credit: Jerusha Sutton
The homebirth programs involved in the consortium are:
- Belmont District and John Hunter Midwifery Group Practice, Newcastle, NSW
- Bunbury Midwifery Group Practice, WA
- Home Birth Service, Darwin, NT
- Canberra Midwifery Program, ACT
- Community Midwifery Program, Perth, WA
- Midwifery Group Practice, Alice Springs, NT
- Midwifery Group Practice, Casey Hospital, Berwick, VIC
- Midwifery Group Practice, Royal Hobart Hospital, Tas (in development)
- Midwifery Group Practice, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans, VIC
- Midwifery Group Practice, Wollongong, NSW
- Midwifery Group Practice, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, SA
- Byron Community Birthing Service, Byron Bay, NSW
- Westmead Homebirth Service, NSW
- Midwifery Group Practice, Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, NSW
- Northern Area Midwifery Group Practice, Elizabeth Vale, SA
- Southern Midwifery Group Practice, Flinders Medical Centre, SA
- Broome Midwifery Group Practice, WA (in development)
- Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Queensland
- Central Coast Midwifery Group Practice Homebirth Service, New South Wales
- Midwifery Group Practice, Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria
Resources
Documents
- Policy for planned Birth at Home in South Australia (PDF, 1MB)
- NSW Health Policy Directive – Maternity Public Homebirth Services (PDF, 581kB)
- Medical Record Audit of Planned Home Births at CYWHS (PDF, 131kB)
- Homebirth Evaluation (PDF, 74kB)
- Labour at home workbook (DOC, 61kB)
- Record of Midwife's experience to gain accreditation LAH1 (DOC, 49kB)
WA Public Homebirth Policy (2024)
Web links (open external sites)
- The financial impact of offering publicly funded homebirths: A population-based microsimulation in Queensland, Australia
- Holistic physiological care compared with active management of the third stage of labour for women at low risk of postpartum haemorrhage: A cohort study
- Publicly-funded homebirth models in Australia
- Publicly funded homebirth in Australia: a review of maternal and neonatal outcomes over 6 years
- Public Homebirth Policy WA
- Implementing a public home birth program: guidance for Victorian public health services
- Where do low risk women live relative to maternity services across Victoria? Expanding access to public homebirth models across Victoria
- A pathway to establish a publicly funded home birth program in Australia
- Seeing birth in a new light: The transformational effect of exposure to homebirth for hospital-based midwives
- Women’s views and experiences of publicly-funded homebirth programs in Victoria, Australia: A cross-sectional survey
- Safer Care Victoria Homebirth Clinical Guidance 2021
- An exploratory study of women and midwives' perceptions of environmental waste management - homebirth as climate action - PubMed (nih.gov)