How many Nurse Practitioners are there in Australia?

The latest data from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia shows there are currently 1,248 Nurse Practitioners in Australia.

While Nurse Practitioners have been a part of the health industry in the UK and USA since the 1960s, the role did not develop in Australia until much later.

The introduction of Nurse Practitioners in Australia began in the 1990’s and experienced many setbacks including legislative issues as well as opposition from other health professionals. In December 2000, the first Nurse Practitioners in Australia gained authorisation to work and 5 months later, in May 2011, the first position was launched in remote NSW.

Over the last 15 years Nurse Practitioners have solidified their place within the Australia healthcare industry and have become an integral part of healthcare delivery, particularly in rural and remote locations.

While the position of Nurse Practitioner was slow to start it has seen significant growth in recent years.  In the last 3 years alone, registration of Nurse Practitioners has increased by almost 70% from just 736 in June 2012 to 1248 in June 2015.

The graph below outlines the number of Nurse Practitioners registered in Australia from 2012-2015.


The following graph shows the breakdown of Nurse Practitioners in Australia by state.