Regulatory taskforce

Date: ongoing
WHO CC involvement: Michele Rumsey, Amanda Neill

The South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alliance (SPCNMOA) established a group of regulatory experts to make up a Regulatory Taskforce for nursing and midwifery in the Western Pacific Region in August 2013 for an initial term of 2 years.

The Mission of the SPCNMOA is to strengthen nursing and midwifery capacity as a key priority for Pacific health systems development through country ownership and leadership. The Alliance acknowledges the issue of the regulation of health workers as a potential barrier to health system development, and therefore has been a priority for the Alliance since 2008. 

From the SPCNMOA Meeting in November 2012 and in relation to Key Result Area 1, it was agreed by the Alliance for 2013-2014 that a taskforce be established to:

  • explore possible work relating to regional regulatory frameworks and use of the ICN/ICM tool Model Act & Tool Kit.
  • look at own country legislations and regulations that will impact nursing services and understanding what gaps and barriers are in the legislation.
  • explore regulation as higher level policy rather than specific statutes.
  • explore the safety, economic and regulatory issues of unregulated health workers.
  • work on defining quality of care in the context of South Pacific to be able to continue improving health of Pacific nations.
  • explore balance between value of registered qualified nurses and midwives versus non registered and the impact on safety of health care.

The Regulatory Taskforce is a mechanism to provide advice and guidance to the SPCNMOA on above issues, and accessing support, resources in-kind and/or funding for regulatory projects.

Membership of Regulatory Taskforce is made up of selected individuals for their skills and knowledge in relation to regulation of health care worker education. The initial Taskforce includes members from Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Australia and New Zealand. The Taskforce will be supported by Secretariat WHO CC UTS.

The Regulatory Taskforce will provide strategic and operational advice to SPCNMOA in relation to regulatory standards, processes and decision-making; business and service delivery models in relation to regulation and associated matters; fostering community and stakeholder awareness of and engagement with health practitioner regulation; and the use of data to monitor and improve policy advice and decision-making.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.