Indemnity insurance reprieve

Independent midwives exemption to continue until 2013.

Independent privately practising midwives have been given a further 12 month extension of the professional indemnity insurance exemption.

The extension was agreed upon at the Australian Health Ministers Conference held in Darwin last week. The exemption will now be in place until July 1, 2013 while further options are explored with a report back to the next health ministers meeting.

Also being held in Darwin was a meeting of the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council, with ministers endorsing the revised English language registration standard from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

The Board consulted extensively with the profession on this revised standard which responds to a range of issues raised by stakeholders and is now more closely aligned with the other nine registered health professions. The new standard will come into force from September 2011.