Free uni for thousands of Victorian nurses and midwives regardless of which party wins election

Thousands of Victorian nurses and midwives will study at uni for free, regardless of who wins the state election. Here’s who is eligible and how it will work.

There will be free university for Victorian nurse and midwifery students. Picture: Ian Currie

Thousands of nurses and midwives will study at university for free, regardless of who wins the state election in November.

The state government on Sunday announced free university for thousands of nurses and midwives, with funding covering the cost of undergraduate studies for 10,000 students as part of a $270m boost to the healthcare sector over five years.

Within minutes of the announcement, the state opposition declared it would match Labor’s promise.

Students who enroll in nursing or midwifery in 2023 and 2024 will have up to their entire HECS debt of $16500 paid by the state government – provided they commit to working for two years in Victoria’s public health system.

The payments will be delivered in two ways: students will receive $9000 while they study and, if they commit to the public system, the remaining $7500 will be covered during the time spent working in public hospitals.

A $10,000 scholarship will also be available for thousands of nurses to convert and upgrade their skills from enrolled to registered nurse, and the package will further see full scholarships available for up to 1000 nurses who have left the workforce to rejoin and retrain.

The government will pay the full $16500 in HECS for students who commit to work in a Victorian public hospital.

Further expenses will be covered for 150 existing nurses to train and qualify as midwives.

Support will also be offered to those who require specialist training, including intensive care, cancer care, paediatrics and nurse practitioner specialties.

The only eligibility requirement to access the payments is to be enrolled in nursing or midwifery as a domestic student, but the number of available placements is capped at 10,000.

In announcing the free nursing training, Premier Dan Andrews said winter has been “a real challenge”.

“We have recruited many thousands of extra nurses since we came to office. Nursing and midwifery is not just a job, it’s not just a career — it’s a calling. This is the best health system in the world to become a part of,” he said.

“After this pandemic event, it’s time to take a really big step. Which is why I am thrilled to be able to announce the $270 million nursing and midwifery package and investment in the skills, recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives right across our hospital system.

Daniel Andrews said the plan had been in the works for months. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“We are removing the cost of study as a barrier to coming back to nursing and midwifery.”

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said: “You can build all the hospitals you like, but if you haven’t trained and supported the workforce, they (the hospitals) will be nothing but an empty shell. Our government does both.”

The announcement comes during Victoria’s escalating health crisis and the Premier said the plans have been in the works for “months”.

The opposition has confirmed it will match the announcement, but added the boost had come too late as the state’s healthcare crisis was worsening.

“This government is bereft of ideas and are coming at this late time to make an announcement,” opposition health spokesperson Georgie Crozier said.

“We’ve matched this announcement, and will have more to say coming into the election about what we’ll do to fix this health crisis that is real, that is costing Victorians their lives.”

“We’ve got 87,000 Victorians that we know about that are waiting on the elective surgery waitlist, but there’s more than that because they’re not releasing the true figures,” Crozier added.

“They’ve had two-and-a-half years of the most woeful management.

“We’ve already announced that the Andrews government’s rail line from Cheltenham to Box Hill, the $35 billion dollars, we’re shelving that project and we’ll be putting every cent of that money into the health system.

“It’ll only take a Matt Guy government to change this and fix this very real health crisis in Victoria.”

Originally published as Free uni for thousands of Victorian nurses and midwives regardless of which party wins election